Nesta/Bryce/Aelin Maasverse Breadcrumbs
Bryce and Aelin are the primary FMCs, but Nesta has more in common with them than ACOTAR's primary FMC, Feyre. Nesta, Bryce, and Aelin are all snarky. They have a strong sense of justice for others. They are all party girls who love music, and dancing. Books are also important to their characters. And of course, fashion. All three care very much for their day-to-day style. This is a huge departure from Feyre, who prefers clothes that are more utilitarian and comfortable.
Bryce loses Danika. Aelin loses Nehemia. Nesta loses Clare Beddor. The end of their friends' lives is the beginning of their journey.
One of the most significant aspects of Celaena/Aelin's character is that she doesn't share her plans after losing Sam. This is sometimes to her own detriment and at the cost of upsetting her most loyal friends. Bryce also doesn't share plans. A major plotline in HOSAB is solved through Bryce not sharing her plans with most of her friends. Nesta also goes rogue without sharing her plans. In ACOTAR, she left her family home to search for Feyre at the Wall. In ACOWAR, she has a plan to distract the King of Hybern that she doesn't fully explain. In ACOSF, Nesta knocks out Gwyn so that her friend would go along with her plan.
Partying & Alcohol as Coping
Celaena loves a good party. There is a party scene in Assassin's Blade where she meets masked Dorian and Chaol. She liked going out to drink, brawl, and gamble. Aelin learns to have better control of her relationship with alcohol. Before Danika's death, Bryce loved going out, casual sex, and getting wasted. She stopped drinking afterwards. During ACOFAS, Nesta visited taverns for music, drinking, hook-ups, and gambling. She stopped drinking when her family made her stay in the House of Wind.
Nesta is Made into fae by the Cauldron. Bryce is Made into the horn when Danika tricks her into getting the horn tattooed onto her. Aelin was Made into the gate when she put keys into her arms in Kingdom of Ash.
Aelin, Bryce, and Nesta are marked with similar symbols.
Aelin's nameless mark is described as:
"a diamond, two arrows piercing its side, then a vertical line in its middle… “.
If the arrows are piercing all the way through the diamond, then that sounds like 8 points. The mark could be the same as the eight-pointed star on Bryce's chest, Nesta's back tattoo, and in the prison.
Of course, Aelin and Bryce have walked across worlds. Nesta has not yet. But there is a significance between Bryce and Nesta's meeting, when Bryce comes to Prythian.
A Tattooed Winged Warrior Mate
Cassian, Rowan, and Hunt. Cassian is an Illyrian, Rowan shape shifts into a hawk, and Hunt is an angel. Each one is a tattooed warrior who is very serious about his work. He is rugged and is not the kind of man who preens. The FMC's are trained by their winged mates. The relationship begins with them at each other's throats and ends with the MMC being her biggest defender. Behind closed doors, they challenge the FMC, but typically carry out her plans. They will not tolerate any criticism of their mate.
There is a reason that Bryce and Hunt met Nesta and Cassian. Both males had the same reaction when the starsword crossed into Prythian.
Side Note: For the fandom, these three MMCs are either beloved or hated. There seems to be little middle ground. I think that is because their personalities are the same. One of the biggest criticisms, is that Rowan and Hunt become boring after they get in a relationship. Most likely it's because they are golden retrievers. And yes, the bonus chapter of Cassian not being on Nesta's side doesn't seem to follow this pattern. Though I am weary of whose perspective the bonus chapter is written in. Ember Quinlan doesn't think positively of venir males, so she's not an objective viewer.
It is canon that Rhys and Ruhn look alike. Dorian's description is similar to theirs, so I'm going to assume that they are all reincarnations/parallels of each other. These two characters are intrinsically linked.
Aelin was romantically linked to Dorian but later they became friends. They are distant cousins in TOG. Throughout the series, they need to work together to stop the Valg. Aelin is slowed in her falling through worlds by Rhys.
Bryce and Ruhn are half-siblings who had a falling out. During HOEAB, they reconcile with each other. In HOSAB, he gives her the Starsword which leads her into Prythian. They work together to dismantle the fae hierarchy.
Nesta and Rhys dislike each other. Due to her treatment of Feyre and their family, Rhys does not like Nesta. Or at least they become civil after she saves the lives of Rhys, Feyre, and Nyx. However, knowing from HOFAS, Rhys' ancestry is linked to Bryce's. With Bryce being the fourth Made item from the Cauldron and Nesta being likely able to access Bryce, there may be a situation in which Rhys and Nesta have to work together.
The Other Female Predator
Feyre shares many similarities with Manon and Lidia. Their relationship to Nesta/Aelin/Bryce is also important to the entire story. There is a mutual respect between these two archetypal personalities.
Feyre and Nesta are at odds with each other during their poverty. Throughout the series, Feyre sees Nesta's love through action rather than her words. And Nesta really does love Feyre, even if she can't bring herself to "conform" to her sister's life. Nesta needed to make her own way.
Aelin and Manon don't trust each other in the beginning. The two women fight but Aelin let her go. Through EOS, they begin to trust each other. They learn that the Eye of Elena is also a witch symbol.
Before Bryce meets Lidia, she already admires her, despite Lidia working for the Asteri. Once it is clear that she is working for the resistance, Bryce trusts her.
Chaol, Ithan, and Azriel. He seems like a MMC but really he's a loyal friend.
Aelin is linked romantically to Chaol. When they fall out over Nehemia's death, their relationship is done even if both didn't realize it until later. Chaol remains angry with Aelin until he figures himself out in TOD.
Ithan and Bryce are best friends until Danika's death. Ithan had a not-so-secret crush on Bryce. Although Bryce seems to be oblivious of his crush. They don't speak for two years until the demon attacks at the end of HOEAB. After Ithan opens the doors to humans, him and Bryce remain trusted friends.
Azriel loved Mor for 500 years. Nesta finds Azriel attractive. Living in the House of Wind together, they become friends. Azriel defends her within the Inner Circle.
Elain, Elide, and Sathia all are similar in some ways. They are all expected to "sweet" but instead they are all tough as nails despite being less powerful.
Nesta and Elain as sisters were always close with Nesta being the protector. They worked in tandem to kill the King of Hybern. Elain and Nesta didn't speak because of Nesta's behavior and her own misled expectations of Elain's behavior.
Elide grew up with Aelin before Terresen fell. Lady Elide became one of the first subjects of Aelin's Terresen. Aelin sees her as someone to protect.
Sathia is Tristan Flynn's sister. She isn't as well liked as Elain or Elide. Yet, Bryce seems to like her. She calls Bryce out on not being positive about the fae. Sathia tells Bryce that she's hopeful for a queen who can dismantle the fae hierarchy.
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