Ok, unpopular opinion time because I just finished reading Tyrant’s Tomb:
Im really really happy with Reyna being a Hunter/not ending up with Lester
I know I’ve seen a lot of people who wanted them to date, it’s even touched on in the book (as is Theyna which I have the same feelings about) and everyone’s allowed to ship what they want but I don’t think most of the shippers realize how big this actually is.
Reyna is canonically aromantic, and I identify so much with her. Her whole speech about feeling like she /should/ date someone, that it’s socially expected of her? Being told that she’s broken and needs to be fixed, feeling like shes not good enough since she can’t seem to have these feelings others expect of her? Choosing the people who she thinks she’s /supposed/ to like?
It’s all exactly how I, and a lot of other aro people I’ve talked to, feel all the time.
Having this representation is something I’ve pretty much never seen before, and it means so much to have such a strong and confident character be like me.
And then I see people complaining about them not dating, about their ship sinking, and like I get it, and you’re allowed to ship what you want, but it hurts to see people upset about a non-amatonormative ending because it just emphasizes what Reyna was feeling in that book, about the societal expectations and otherness that aro people feel constantly.
Anyway this rant was long (sorry) and doesn’t mean much since most people don’t understand what aromanticism even is but I had to get it off my chest.