#the reyna situation

[little-red-devil]

bestie can you explain the gio situation everything i know is second hand

bestie I hope you're comfortable, because this is a NOVEL!! 😓

Okay sooo, this all started before the World Cup when Gregg Berhalter told Gio Reyna he was on the squad, but would have a "limited role" (he was just coming back from a hamstring injury so I kind of get it) and will probably not play much. Now Gio didn't like that and according to both him and Berhalter he didn't have the best attitude and lacked effort in training before/during the WC, which lead to some difficulties in camp, and they even considered sending him home!!!! They [Gio, Berhalter, other coaches] had a conversation about his behavior, and he apologized to them and also the whole team. He was forgiven and there were no other issues beyond that (this convo happened after the Wales game, but before England). Gio also said on instagram that he was told this situation would remain "in house" and that the public wouldn't know about it. This is the same precedent set by Berhalter when he didn't comment specifically as to why McKennie was sent home during World Cup Qualifying last fall.

"But if the public was never meant to know about it, then why do we know about it?" I'm SOO glad you asked 🙃 You see, literally DAYS after the US was eliminated from the WC, Berhalter spoke at a leadership summit and told this story. Now to his credit he never called out Gio Reyna by name, but there were already rumors swirling that they had issues during the tournament so it wasn't hard to put 2-and-2 together. ALSO while Gregg never said Gio's name, SOMEONE DID AND THEY TOLD THE WHOLE THING TO THE ATHLETIC and it bothers me so much that nobody talks about that 😡 Anyways, USMNT Twitter went into a frenzy, but after Gio's statement things calmed down for a while.

[TW for talks about DV]

UNTIL Berhalter releases a statement saying that someone was trying to BLACKMAIL him out of the head coach job (his contract ran out after the WC, but there was a chance it could be extended). He admits that when they were both in college he and his then girlfriend (now wife) had been drinking, they had an argument, and he kicked her in the legs. Now I think we can all agree that domestic violence of any kind is wrong regardless of how long ago it was, and that is not up for debate.

It was revealed in early January that the person who brought these allegations against Gregg was actually Danielle Reyna, Gio's mom, who was Rosalind Berhalter's roommate/teammate at UNC when the incident happened. She brought it up in an hour-ish long phone call with Earnie Stewart (who was the US Soccer Sporting Director at the time) because she was upset the her son was being dragged on the internet, said something like "if Gregg can be forgiven for that, then Gio can be forgiven for his behavior at the WC." After the news broke, she made a statement saying the call wasn't malicious in any way, that she and Claudio were talking on the phone with Earnie as a friend, and didn't think about the fact that he would have to report this.

Anyways, an investigation was held by US Soccer, and the full report (which is like 40 PAGES LONG btw😓😓) of it was just released yesterday. They concluded that it was a one-off incident and that Berhalter was still in the running to the the USMNT head coach. It also revealed that the Reynas, mainly Claudio, had been reaching out to US Soccer since 2016 with complaints/concerns about how Gio was treated (playing time, referee decisions, etc). As far as I could tell there was no evidence suggesting that their grievances were actually accommodated by US Soccer, so really they were just complaining to complain.

I saw a few unsavory quotes from the Reyna's circulating around Twitter, but being mean/shady people isn't necessarily a crime in my eyes. In my PERSONAL OPINION, it's unfair that Gio's character is being called into question because his parents have said/done some shady things, and I'm not going to hold him responsible for THEIR actions. In regards to Berhalter, I can understand his frustration with the Reyna's and it sucks that their friendship (which has lasted for literal DECADES) seems to have come to and end like this. However, I still don't want him as the head coach, but that's because I don't like his playing style/favoritism when he calls in certain players lol. As for the Reyna's, I think they need to stop talking and just let their son's talent speak for itself. ALSO this would have never happened if US Soccer wasn't such an old boy's club where they hire old US players who aren't qualified for the job, but that's a whole other issue LMAO 😂😂

Sorry this was long and kind of all over the place lol I clearly have a lot of thoughts about this. Anyways, this was the gist of it, hope it helps 😊

[somewhereincairparavel]

Genuinely VERY confused, why is the majority of the fandom blaming Jason for the downfall of his friendship with Reyna?

i legit came across like a handful of comments today like "Reyna deserved much better than dirtbag Jason, he was such a jerk to her, choosing Piper over her and not talking to her after he came back to camp jupiter"

like?? stop over victimizing Reyna in this situation, it isnt even that serious lmao its just teenage drama, she doesn't need pity for this. both Reyna AND Jason were accountable for their crumbling friendship, it wasnt all on Jason. Reyna made PLENTY of mistakes too they are LITERAL teenagers, stuff like this is normal ffs. She didn't send a search party after Jason to look for him, she never held a memorial service for him even after the camp basically thought he was dead, she never initiated a conversation with Jason either after he came back, and practically avoided him the entire time completely (she flat out avoided eye contact with him in BOO and intentionally ONLY acknowledged Piper who was standing next to him)

Also, Reyna did literally the same thing to Jason that people are bashing him for, The fandom's problem with him is that he shouldnt have developed feelings for piper bc it "betrays his connection" with Reyna. But anyone ever thought about how Reyna developed feelings for Percy almost immediately after he came to camp while simultaneously claiming that she longed for a relationship with jason? if you put it in the fandom's logic, Reyna too, was "unloyal" to Jason, since she did not hesitate in giving a random new boy her best friend's position.

you cant tell me she wouldnt have gotten with percy if he were single. be so fr rn. but apparently its completely alright if she moved on from jason with percy, but its illegal if jason moved on from reyna with piper, right? they owed eachother absolutely nothing. They were just friends.

Jason had no reason to even think reyna liked him that way since she canonically avoided him thoroughly after the whole venus mess. so no. Just bc Reyna wasnt upfront with her feelings for him, does NOT mean he "lead" her on.

this situation isnt black or white, i think yall forget that they are both literal children

[crookedghosts]

lmao this might be classified as crack but au where jeyna is in a pr relationship that gets debunked so they bring piper in to try and launch a more believable jiper but piper's mostly in it cause she was a jeyna nonbeliever and thought reyna was cute - also obviously she sets her bff leo up with her fake bf

[shadowuserannie]

Reyna And The Lost Hero

WHEN REYNA WAKES UP, she immediately knows something is wrong.

You know that deep-seated feeling of wrong, wrong, wrong you feel when something is deeply off, somewhere? That’s how she feels, and Reyna has no idea how she can even describe that.

When she wakes up, her head is on the shoulder of a girl with brown hair, said hair tickling her face. Reyna pushes it out of her mouth and sits up, blinking slowly as she takes her environment in cautiously.

A few dozen teenagers talk, sleep, play music, or eat each other’s faces in front of her. Reyna glances around and comes to the magical conclusion that she’s in a bus, from common sense.

“Reyna, you okay?”

Reyna glances up and feels her mouth go dry. The girl she was sleeping on is very pretty. Her hair is cut at different lengths, her lips are chapped, and her eyes seem to flicker between green and gold as she watches Reyna with worry in them.

“I, er-”

“Alright, cupcakes! Listen up!”

The man that stands up in the aisle had a thin goatee and a sour face, like he’d just been told he got the grand detention of cleaning the toilets. His scowl has Reyna’s shoulders instantly pricking up straight.

One of the kids calls out, “Stand up, Coach Hedge!” Reyna has half a mind to slap him for such public disobedience and stupidity. Shorter people are more liable to kick your feet out from under you.

“I heard that!” The coach’s beady eyes scan the bus and fix on Reyna. Reyna’s shoulders tense impossibly further, her lips settling into a neutral line and eyes widening faintly-dangerously. It’s an expression her face seems to settle into instinctually.

His scowl deepens, and he looks away, clearing his throat. “We’ll arrive in five minutes! Don’t lose your partner, don’t lose your worksheet, and if you cause any trouble, I am sending you back to campus on this bus in a bag.”

Reyna instantly glances down and fishes about her backpack. A case of stationery and a worksheet with…

“What’s today’s date? What’s the worksheet? Who’s my partner?”

The pretty girl furrows her eyes but answers the question, points out the worksheet-in her backpack, thankfully-and apparently, she’s Reyna’s partner.

Which would be fantastic if Reyna hadn’t forgotten her name.

“Jeez, get hit with amnesia much?”

The boy that grins at her from the seat in front can only be described as the person authority picks as most likely to cause trouble. It’s his slouch, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and the smirk on his lips.

Reyna suddenly has a deep urge to dislike him.

…wait, what did he say?

“What did you say?”

“Aww, dream bad jokes while in sleepyland?”

“No, that word. The…ammesa?”

“…Amnesia? Dude, mispronouncing words now too? Not like you, that smack on…the head…did you bad…”

Now the boy and girl look at her with concern.

“What’s my name?” the girl asks.

Reyna’s eyes flick about her clothes. Faded jeans, practical hiking boots, a thick jacket. No name or convenient tablet-

A stab of pain shoots through her skull and Reyna bites her lips hard enough to draw blood. It’s her only reaction.

“Okay, dude, I finally admit you have a sense of humour, okay? Stop it, this ain’t funny.” The boy reaches out to flick Reyna’s arm. She stops him with a hand on his wrist and he pulls back with a sharp hiss. “Geez, go easy!”

“Leo,” says the girl. “I don’t think she’s joking. Can you say my name? Do you know where we’re going? Who you are?”

Reyna wants to open her mouth and speak.

…

Who am I?

…

Reyna.

I’m Reyna.

…

But who am I?

I’m Reyna.

…

BUT WHO AM I?

“I…I don’t know.”

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Teen!Reyna: "Hey little man, haven't seen you since you were just a baby!"

"What have you been up to lately?"

"Oh, and give this to your older brother"

Gives him a small paper with the code: --● ● ●●- ●●● ●-- ●●●● --- ●●● -●●● ●- -●-● -●-

" ... I can read Morse Code and I believe you misspelled a word!

Should be "--● ●●- ● ●●● ●●●", not "--● ● ●●- ●●●".

But anyway, I will give it to him. It'll be fun to see him try and decode the whole message but also understand what "GEUS" means! "

[yrwnrsk]

sometimes I think six getting tipsy enough to let slip her closet of questionable past partners and everyone else's reaction ranging from respect to horror. said partners range between the king to his angrier counterpart, pacer

[ruegarding]

(hi this is aroaceleovaldez it's a sideblog so i cant send asks from it hrg) a.) always love seeing your tags on my posts lol you have very good opinions [handshake emoji] b.) i'll be honest i wasn't even thinking about the awful pjo wwii stuff when i made that post i was thinking about the new, *different* antisemitism from TOA. of which there is. even more somehow. 😬 also fun fact Rick saying Reyna is allo-ace-coded on twitter might have actually semi been directly because of me, because he said that within like 2 hours and 2 tweets of replying to an open letter i wrote where i literally said that the way he wrote Reyna in Tyrant's Tomb falls into aphobic tropes and Isn't Great. despite replying to it i dont think he actually read it, lol. he then almost immediately left twitter for like 4 years and he also has since deleted his reply. fascinating stuff, truly.

anyways please excuse me digging through your hazel tag cause i am constantly dying trying to find hazel-focused fanart and you have one of the few good hazel tags i've been able to find. picture me scurrying away like some sort of small creature here.

hi thank u!! i appreciate your posts abt disabilities/ableism especially bc it's such an integral part of the story and a lens that gets lost despite that

i'll be honest, i haven't read toa (only short snippets when i want to see a specific scene), so i just read this article abt it, and it's frustrating that almost every example of diversity rick includes is riddled w harmful stereotypes. like, google is right there to help you avoid at least some! (psa to anyone else reading this, google "harmful [x] stereotypes" before making a character you're unfamiliar with!) the wwii stuff...rereading the series again like two years ago shocked me bc i had completely erased the entire plotline from my memory as a kid. some of these choices have me questioning the editors at the time, bc there were definitely things an editor should've pointed out if they were reading the full text.

your power! lmao but that behavior is exactly what makes it so difficult to give rick real feedback. i know some fans claim the older fandom is too cynical, but if we've been trying to give the same advice for years it's going to get old fast. every good change is accompanied by something else (especially noticeable in how percy is treated), so it always feels double-edged. but i'm glad you said this actually bc i didn't know he specified allo-ace! i had assumed he said aro-ace, but that actually makes the way ppl behave abt lesbians identifying w reyna more alarming...regardless i'm glad he's including ace rep bc it's rare, but the way reyna and the hunters were handled is...confusing at best.

please enjoy! i love hazel sm and i recently just went thru someone else's blog and queued a bunch of posts in a very similar fashion lol

[witchhazelevesque]

That scene in MoA where Tyson gave everyone a goodbye hug was very sweet, but also probably the first hug Reyna had gotten in a very long time

[blkwag]

he’s just like me

[addc10]

What did you think of the US v England match?

Great! I think the US can only feel unfortunate that they weren’t able to get all three points there, though ultimately a draw was the deserved result.

I think it highlights our lack of a true goal scorer, and not even just at the 9 position. I can’t help worry about where goals are going to come from.

I think the best part of the game was the midfield battle, which the US won. I felt as if England were underrating out midfielders (at least from the news that I saw) so that was such a good tactical battle in my opinion.

I think Gregg got it right and Southgate got it wrong, which doesn’t mean I think that Gregg is a better manager, or even that I now love and support Gregg, but as soon as the line-ups we’re dropped, I could immediately see the tactical adjustments for the press and counter, and I can’t say the same for England.

It makes me even more upset that we couldn’t close out the Wales game.

[itwoodbeprefect]

watching a show i've already seen (nashville), hoping that this time it might turn out differently (will signs with reyna)

[demigod-shenanigans]

I’m arguing in favor of Reyna being the one to say it because (depending on when this is in the timeline) Jason and Frank have both spent enough time around Greek demigods to get used to the fact that things are just Like That with them. Jason lived at CHB for six months. Frank spent all those weeks on the Argo II and got used to it then, and he also wasn’t at Camp Jupiter super long before SoN happens (a little over a month, I think?) so he probably hasn’t fully figured out Roman vs Greek demigod normal by the time he leaves.

Reyna though? Least interactions with Greek demigod weirdness out of all of them. Bonus points if she looks to Jason for support on how bizarre this situation is and he just shrugs at her like this is a conversation they have every other Tuesday.

Sometimes I just like to imagine the Greeks casually talking about the fact that the Gods put Tantalus in charge of Camp for a few weeks and the Romans just staring at them in slackjawed horror and disbelief.

Eventually a Roman interrupts the debate about whether or not Tantalus qualifies for the "worst teacher/substitute teacher ever" competition with-

"Excuse me. What the fuck?"

(Nor sure if it's most satisfying if that comes from Reyna, Jason, or Frank though.)

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

and if we don't get a girly lil montage of annabeth's makeover on circe's island with cutesy music in the background in s2, then what's the point??

like imagine. it's percy in a really tight situation rn. he's tempted by his humane insecurities, risking trusting a suspicious primordial goddess. but he's choked, because he wants to be perfect. he wants to be enough. we see a torn expression on walker's face. indecision and doom is hanging in the atmosphere.

then we cut to some pop music blaring in the background. leah's lips are touched up with lipstick a close up shot. her cheeks are brushed with powdered pink. we see her spinning around in some dresses while giggling with the servants (+reyna cameo). she's shooting star eyes at the mirror with someone gives her a grand reveal of her new gorgeous hairstyle.

oh, where were we again? oh yeah. we cut back to percys life or death situation or whatever.

[somewhereincairparavel]

Percy this. Percy that. It was always about Percy Jackson. All the fucking time. 

It was always about the Hero of Olympus, the one who defeated Kronos and led the battle of Manhattan, the one who was offered immortality by the king of the gods himself, the one who restored glory to Rome by returning the golden eagle, the one who became praetor of the Roman camp in 2 weeks with limited training. 

His Roman camp. Jason Grace's Roman camp.

Percy Jackson had pulled off everything in 2 weeks that Jason Grace wasn't able to accomplish despite dedicating his whole life for duty. 11 years of blood, sweat and tears, simply gone down the drain.

Jason had failed his camp. He had failed his home. Turns out, he wasn't as great as the people of Rome had once preached about him. It was obvious considering the less than warm welcome he had gotten from his so-called “home”. 

He received no hugs, no cheers, no “we missed you jason!”, no “I was so worried about you!” or even a single pat on the arm by his “friend” Dakota. Dakota and Gwendolyn hadn't even spared a glance at him.

Nothing. Instead, this new Jackson boy was held up to worship like a god amongst the people who once considered Jason a “hero”.

Jason laughed bitterly. Was it selfish of him to be disappointed with Reyna? With a pang, he got to know that Reyna hadn't sent a single search party out to look for her “best friend”. Not like Annabeth did for Percy, not like Thalia did for Percy.

With a pang, he got to know that the whole camp basically deemed him as ‘dead’ and Reyna hadn't even set up a memorial of remembrance for him. The camp had simply moved on with their new hero. Without a single shred of thought for Jason Grace. 

The forgotten Hero. The lost hero. Jason Grace.

These thoughts of doubt gnawed on Jason's mind, slowly eating him up ever since he'd first seen Percy Jackson in those damned praetor togas that once belonged to him. 

He didn't dislike the boy, of course not, it wasn't Percy's fault that Hera wiped their memories or switched camps.

 But it was hard for Jason to not resent him, or feel even the tiniest amount of envy, knowing that Reyna willingly replaced him with Jackson. Very quickly too, at that. He overheard Octavian blabbing to his lackeys about how Reyna “was head over heels for Percy almost immediately” 

“I guess that's it. Maybe I am someone who is easy to replace.” Jason thought, his eyes pricking as he looked over from the flying ship, at the place he once used to call home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason watched remorsefully as Thalia, Grover, Percy and Annabeth were all gathered at the table in camp half blood, cracking jokes about dam french fries or whatever that meant.

Thalia caught Jason's eyes, staring at all of them from a distance. She smiled softly, and gave him a tiny wave. He weaved his lips into something that was meant to look like a wry smile, but it came out as a slight grimace, as he waved back.

Thalia was so close to Jason, yet so far away.

He knew she loved him, but it felt different. And an annoying, nagging part of Jason had known that Thalia would never be as close to him as she was to Annabeth or Percy. 

Ironic isn't it? Jason and Thalia were always connected since they came from the same womb, yet she was closer to Annabeth, a girl she'd found after she had run away from the same woman that had given Jason to the wolves. The same woman who had turned his life upside down by abandoning him. 

Thalia had found Annabeth right after she thought she had lost Jason. In a strangely ironic way, Jason felt like he'd been replaced all over again.

Thalia had replaced Jason as a younger sibling with Annabeth without even realizing it, all of this took place mere months after a baby Jason was considered to be dead. This situation had strangely reminded him of Camp Jupiter, how he was replaced by Percy right after Jason was considered “dead” by Camp Jupiter.

This made Jason reach the possibility that if he were indeed “dead”, he wouldn't be missed. People wouldn't bat an eyelash. Since there was always someone better than him. Someone like Percy Jackson, who could easily fill the void Jason would leave behind.

His eyes watered, as he looked at how much fun his sister had with his friends. Knowing full well, that he'd never be able to do the same.

Jason felt ashamed that he had to ask Percy about Thalia’s likes and dislikes, he was thalia’s brother. He was supposed to know.

Jason watched as Thalia quickly hugged the trio, as she left their table to leave with the hunters, not even realizing that there was one person whom she forgot to hug.

Don't take it personally. Don't take it personally. She just forgot. She doesn't hate you. She just forgot. She doesn't prefer Percy over you. She's in a hurry. That's why she forgot. Jason repeated that like a mantra, the only person he was trying to convince was himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And he rejected immortality!- oh you should've seen Zeus' face!” Annabeth exclaimed to Hazel excitedly, as Percy was blushing at the compliment fountain being poured at him by Hazel and Annabeth.

Jason had always been fascinated by that story, the almighty Percy Jackson getting offered to become a god, by Zeus.

His father. Jason's father, Zeus. 

Jason felt stupid and guilty for getting envious, it's not the fact that Percy had been offered immortality, no. Jason couldn't care less about being immortal. It was the person who offered Percy invincibility that bothered Jason so much. 

Jason knew that even if he went to the ends of the world to accomplish something, his father wouldn't be able to praise him or even talk to him for a long time. 

Zeus and Jason could never be like Hades and Nico, or Poseidon and Percy. That's just how it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reyna had come to camp half blood for a fun visit. Jason would've been ecstatic in other circumstances, but in this case, he wanted to be as far away from her as possible. Because currently, Reyna seemed to be looking at everyone, but refused to meet Jason's eyes. She seemed to keep her distance as she laughed at something Percy and Piper were saying. 

She may as well have just stabbed him, it would've hurt a lot less. 

He had truly been naive to believe that he could make amends with Reyna. Now he knew, it would never be possible. There was too much pain mixed with bitterness on both ends. But seeing her get along with Percy reminded him of the old times of friendship he and Reyna had shared. Keyword: had.

Once again, the fates had shown him that Percy Jackson would always be better. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Jason Grace lay on the cold floor, coughing out blood. He realized he was alone, he was dying, but he was alone.

Like always. The sickly voice of Gaia, that had once haunted his nightmares, boomed in his head. Jason knew he was hallucinating as a result of blood loss, Gaia is in deep slumber. But that did not stop the voice in his head that was invented by his insecurities. Even in the end, you've been forgotten, Jason Grace. Because that's what you will always be. The second best. The leftover. The pawn who is discarded, after his purpose has been fulfilled. Percy Jackson would always be better in everyone's eyes. 

To the Romans, you are simply the one who betrayed his lineage. But Percy is the one who restored glory. He did your job for you.

To the Greeks, you are simply a burden, one whom they were forced to welcome.

To your father, you are merely one of his many sons. 

To your sister, you are a stranger.

Jason's resolve to live had weakened, hot tears were streaming down his face as he closed his eyes in defeat, he had come to the painful conclusion that nobody is going to come find his body. Nobody is going to mourn him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh I will always be much better than you at this! Bring it on, dude!” Percy laughed as he striked his play sword lightsaber at Jason's. They clashed. 

“You wish, Jackson!” Jason shot back jokingly, as they sparred playfully with toy lightsabers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jackson, you jerk. You were right after all, you will always be much better than me” Jason laughed bitterly, as he recalled that memory of his sparring session with Percy.

 Suddenly everything went black. The life had successfully ebbed out of him.

Little did Jason know, was that someone had indeed come to look for him. Tempest, his Pegasus had come to retrieve his body, but Jason was long gone. People had indeed mourned him. His friends were, indeed, anguished. His sister was, indeed, heartbroken.

Jason's soul parted this world, with the knowledge that he'd always be The forgotten Hero. 

The lost hero. Jason Grace.

[weiyjling]

Jason: So let me get this straight.

Percy: More like let me run this bi you.

Leo: Let’s see how this pans out.

Reyna: Stop. We should ace-ess the situation.

Piper: Lesbian actual team of functioning people, okay?

Nico: I’m gay…

[shutuplook]

And one thing about the whole 'cold and stoic' thing is that her power is literally about sharing her strength with others!! Her abilities revolve around helping others!!!! And her personality reflects this!!!! But bc she isnt so forthcoming with her emotions she often gets relegated to the grumpy hates other people trope, which i think is a real shame

Reyna is one of the most selfless characters in the entire Riordanverse, but barely anyone actually recognizes her for that. She may come off as cold and stoic, but throughout the Heroes of Olympus series, we repeatedly see how much she cares for those around her. She welcomes Percy into Camp Jupiter despite her past because she knows the camp would benefit from his arrival, and she risks her own role as Praetor (something she worked hard to achieve) on the small chance they could stop the war. I hate that we don’t really explore her as a character within this fandom, but we really should.