I quite enjoyed this look at Aranya's life outside of the main narrative of IC&SF. I think it fleshes her out more, and shows she is a character who can stand 'on her own two feet' as it were, without the presence of
the Silmarillion characters we know so well. (Since that is normally how I'm used to reading about people's OCs in fanfiction - they are additions to a story which is mainly focused on the book's characters, and as such the story focuses on the OC's interactions with those characters and not much else.)
I liked reading about the various other people, things and
places in Aranya's life. It has a similar vibe to IC&SF, but it's also kind of like stepping into a new world, since it doesn't revolve around the Finwians and their great houses/palaces. And yes. It is very cottagecore. I was very much reminded of your Minecraft builds when reading the descriptions of the cottage and the gardens. Peaceful and pleasant, with a unique feel of its own.
Aranya Estiel walked alone down the hot, dusty road leading from
Tirion to its outlying villages. Her feet and back ached, her joints felt sore and stiff, and her heart didn’t know what to feel. The journey home took at least half a day on foot. And when she arrived, she wasn’t sure if she would be comforted by reuniting with her parents and childhood home, or if she would once again feel stifled and controlled. She had worked so hard to find some sense of freedom from the well-meaning parents who had chosen her occupation and tried to choose her husband. Would this holiday visit, short as it was, take away some of that hard-earned freedom?
And somehow the whole morning had slipped away from her. She had awoken in a panic that morning as she remembered the preparations she had forgotten about the night before. They were just a few small chores, but somehow they ate away her entire morning as she scrambled to get them done. So she had made most of the journey during the heat of the day. Her clothes clung to her body, her dark hair was damp and frizzy, and she felt disgusting overall. Though she had packed lightly, her basket felt heavier by the minute, and it kept thumping against her leg in an increasingly annoying way.
And that is definitely something I must mention again! The descriptions! I know that sensory or setting descriptions don't often come naturally to you in your writing, but I think they were distinct and well executed throughout this story. I could clearly feel and see and hear and picture everything.
It struck me as I read these opening paragraphs. I am familiar with long walks in the heat and dust, and this definitely brought that kind of thing vividly to mind again. And the descriptions of setting and physical feelings remained fairly constant as I read onwards. ✨ I think this contributed to the slightly different feel of this story.
“Greetings, Disgusting. I’m Atar,” her father said with a twinkle in his dark brown eyes. He rumpled her hair teasingly, and she rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. Antamo wasn’t a particularly tall
Elf, but he was strong and muscular from his years of carpentry work, so Aranya always found his embrace to be especially comforting—even if his jokes were a bit cheesy.
Hehehehe, dad jokes. :3
I liked Antamo already just from this, and it didn't change as I went on. Goofy humour and a love for crafting things? How could I not like him? >_> 👌
I also appreciated the warmth of the relationship between him and Aranya. I know I haven't seen much of him yet, but I think he's getting added to my list of loveable Silm OCs. 😂
Antamo wasn’t a particularly tall Elf,
“We have a bath heated up for you already. There is some fresh lavender you can use if you’d like it,” her mother added. She was small and slight with dark, wavy hair like Aranya, but her gray eyes always held a look of seriousness.
Seems like a family of smol
elves in their smol cottage. 🥺 😂
Aranya had told
Maitimo all about this place. He told her it sounded lovely and he wanted to visit it. If only…
Aw. Wouldn't that be the dream? 🥺 Indeed, I do think Maitimo would very much like this place.
Aranya forced a smile and nodded, but did not respond.
As usual, her father came to the rescue by changing the subject. “Is that Tecno fellow still bothering you?”
Here, Aranya’s smile returned as a mischievous grin. “No… not since Prince Nolofinwë gave him a little talk. I’d give anything to know exactly what he said! Tecno seems terrified of me now.”
“As he ought to be, and should have been from the beginning!”
Aranya and Antamo laughed heartily. Almanis seemed less amused, primly cutting and eating her vegetables.
“Well, going back to what I said earlier about second chances,” Almanis said, “you do know, Aranya dear, you have much better options, and one who is close to home and still open to you, at that.”
Aranya's relationship with her mother seems rather more complicated. I get the sense that they tend to express their thoughts and feelings quite differently, and so misunderstandings can arise, or they can easily rub each other the wrong way. And though it is clear that Almanis cares for Aranya (she puts in the work to take care of the orchid that reminds her of her, for example), and she wants Aranya to have a good and successful life, her ideas for what a 'good life' looks like often do not align with Aranya's preferences and perspective. And she is not easily persuaded otherwise. More's the pity, for it seems like it's a constant source of stress for Aranya.
Aranya ended up being glad she ate before bathing, because it would have been hard to enjoy the bath on an empty stomach. Feeling full and content, she relaxed in the bath with its lavender and rose petals for a good long while. She soaked her hair in the water so it floated gracefully near the surface, and the flower petals settled into it. She found herself imagining she was a
Maia of
Ulmo; they often presented themselves as half-Elda and half-fish. It sounded like an odd combination, but based on the graceful
statues and paintings she had seen of these
creatures, they were a magical sight to behold.
Meranya! ✨ 🧜🏻♀️ 😂
Her irritation was forgotten, though, when she settled into her old bed for the night. It was still covered with the quilt she had made as a young girl. It had been her first real sewing project, and her mother had helped her with it quite a bit. It didn’t quite suit Aranya’s preferences anymore, since it was a hodgepodge of whatever loud colors and patterns had caught her eye back then. Now, she would have preferred a calmer color scheme of various pinks and purples. But the nostalgia of it was comforting. With that and the familiar feel of her old mattress, she fell asleep almost in an instant.
...Now this doesn't sound
at all like anyone I know, does it...? 🤔🤭
...Rest assured, I have picked up on the many other similarities in opinions and preferences (and frustrations) between you and Aranya, scattered throughout this story. If you've ever mentioned it in a conversation with me before... I've almost certainly picked up on it here again. Particularly regarding aesthetics and organisation, which is unsurprising, given the greater focus on describing the setting/surroundings.
And am I surprised? No. Aranya = Maitimelia.
It was a good thing indeed that she hadn’t searched for her art supplies that night. She set to it the next morning, and it took her over an hour to move around, and look through, the various dusty crates and chests. Finally, she found her parchment and charcoal and paints in a plain-looking box, buried near the bottom of the pile.
To her disappointment, the paints were dried up. No matter; she could make do with just the parchment and charcoal.
Weirdly, when I read this bit, it reminded me of a totally different character: Edrahil. Who's technically not an original character, because he exists in
the Silmarillion. But he is such a minor character that he is practically an OC anyway, given how much I've expanded on his personality.
His main craft is painting, and he likes to spend time sketching things. I recently wrote about him (as a youth) drawing with charcoal in my one-shot The Sculpture and the Willow.
Interestingly, he is an ISFP, like Aranya. Though he has a somewhat different vibe, being patient and quiet/reserved.
Without bothering to put on shoes or do her hair, she took the supplies out to the woods, so her parents wouldn’t ask her what she was drawing. She sat on the swing which her father had built for her as a child, and rocked gently back and forth as she began her sketch. This was something she’d been wanting to try for some years now, but she never dared to at the House of Nolofinwë for fear of someone discovering it.
It was trickier than she’d expected without having Maitimo in front of her, and her sketching skills were rather rusty. But after several attempts, she felt satisfied that it was indeed his dimpled smile and his soft eyes staring up at her from the page.
Ah, here it is, the scene from your drawing! 🌳 ✍🏻 💖
I thought it would be likely for her to sketch something to do with Maitimo, and indeed, it is him she drew. When I read this, I pictured her sketch as looking like your sketches of Maitimo.
Perhaps Írissë might like it, but then again, this was her cousin, so that could again be awkward for Aranya to explain. Írissë seemed to be strangely supportive of Aranya spending time with Maitimo, but Aranya had never told her openly about it.
Oh, hmm, is she now? 👀 🤭
As she sat on the swing, contemplating this, she nearly jumped when something soft brushed against her ankle. Glancing down, she saw the source of the touch: a fluffy white cat, staring up at her with big blue eyes.
“Oh, hello! Who might you be?” Aranya was unable to resist reaching down to pet the silky white fur. The cat pressed her head firmly into Aranya’s hand, and Aranya both heard and felt the low vibrations of a purr in the creature’s throat.
And here we have one last piece to complete the picture. An outrageously fluffy cat, of course! A short story focused on Aranya wouldn't be complete without it. Such a sweet and well-behaved cat too!
She glanced down at the drawing in her hands and had a very silly thought. “I guess you’re the only one I can show this to. Promise not to tell anyone? I’ll get in big trouble if anyone finds out.”
The cat looked her in the eye and blinked slowly.
Smiling, Aranya sat on the ground and presented the drawing to the cat, as though she were a discerning art critic. “If you only knew my subject, I think you’d say this is a remarkable likeness.”
The cat gave a chirplike meow as though in response, and then started to rub her face on the edges of the drawing. Out of instinct, Aranya nearly pulled the drawing away. But then she realized, if she couldn’t show the sketch to anyone else, Maitimo might as well get some love from this cat.
Besides, the cat didn’t damage the drawing by smudging any of the charcoal. As though she understood and respected the art, she only rubbed on the edges. Then, seemingly satisfied, she turned and trotted off into the forest, and promptly disappeared.
I found myself smiling as I read this part. So sweet and wholesome, and a little humorous.
“Gladly.” She took the basket he offered her… and a sudden intrusive thought entered her head. Tecno was always going on about the “excellent roasted tomatoes” frequently served in the House of Nolofinwë. Next time he bothered her, she suddenly imagined herself shoving one of these ripe garden tomatoes in his face. She could just picture the red juice and slimy seeds sliding down his face, and his already-round eyes wider than an owl’s.
This made me chuckle! Mr. Tecno Lóremo Collins strikes again! 😂
And Aranya will strike back if he decides to bother her again.
With a tomato.
