Picking Up The Pieces by Grundy  

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Fanwork Notes

When I first saw "Closer" as one of the song prompts, I thought 'that's not a love song...' Then I went over the lyrics and it hit me that while it's not exactly a love song, it is very much Maeglin post-Gondolin. At least, as I imagine him - and I may owe him an apology, because I think I did far worse to him than Tolkien did. (But I'm giving him a happier ending.) While it doesn't start out as a love story, I promise it will get there eventually!

Fanwork Information

Summary:

After the Fall of Gondolin, Maeglin's more than a little broken. Is there any hope for him?

Major Characters: Idril, Maeglin, Other Fictional Character(s), Aredhel, Galadriel, Turgon

Major Relationships: Maeglin/Other Fictional Character

Genre: Crossover

Challenges: But I Won't Do That, Gates of Summer, Jumble Sale, Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song, Laws and Customs, New Year's Resolution

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Torture
Chapters: 43 Word Count: 134, 103
Posted on Updated on

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Show all chapters on a single page

Table of Contents

Broken

The torture is more mental/mind games than physical/graphic, but you have been warned.

Mandos
Release
A New Day
Food and Thought
A Moth To The Flame
Asking Questions
A Good Day
Truth and Consequences
The Morning After
The Newlyweds
On The Road
A Quiet Entrance
Moles, Cats, Bags
Mountains and Molehills
Real Me
Family Ties
Living Like A Mole
Brothers and Sisters
When Irissë Came Marching Home
Finding Her Feet
Come Together
The Calm(ish) Before The Storm
Secrets Will Out
Fair Warning
Handle With Caution
Meet The Grandparents
No One Expects
Lunch With The Parents
An Afternoon of Surprises
A Crack In Everything
How The Light Gets In
Daybreak
Tough Questions
Past, Present, and Future Tense
Taking A Break
All Shook Up
The Things We Do

This chapter partially inspired by the Jumble Sale prompt "For Sale: *censored* (inquire at the front desk)". You'll know which part I mean when you get there. Hoping to get to the actual "won't do that" part before Resolution is over but tagging for it now just in case.

A Family Dinner
Stuck In A Moment
Hold Onto Your...
Guess Who?
Dinner And A Show

Right, here it is finally, my challenge response to the Jumble Sale prompt For Sale: *censored* (inquire at the front desk)

(Consider the statement, "But I won't do that," and what "that" is for your character and what happens when the inevitable happens and your character must, in fact, do that. The fanwork should focus on the laws and customs of Arda (from the challenge Laws and Customs) and should include Turgon.)

You said include Turgon, anonymous prompter, and obviously for him 'that' is 'welcome Eöl civilly to my house'.

Comments on Picking Up The Pieces

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This is a great story! Maintains a wonderful tension which is really hard to do when one is writing this kind of fanfic--we all think we know what is coming next--and yet you manage to surprise us over and over again.

One of my favorite segments (and there are a number to chose from!) is this:

Calaliltië was the last thing he would ever make, he had known that even as he had set the name on the blade and put what light and hope he still had to offer into the letters. She will find it someday. Bauglir may twist the Music, but he cannot unmake it entirely.  Even if the Dark One kills her as he has laughingly promised to do, that sword will still play its part in his downfall. The last tengwar on it are a prayer that it do Belegurth as much damage as his grandfather’s Ringil had and more.

Love how you manage to maintain the suspense throughout the piece and still surprise us at the end. I have read a lot of stories which intended to elicit sympathy for a sad, emo Maeglin. Hey, I was ready and willing when I picked them up--I have soft spot for ill-fated Silmarillion characters. But those Maeglin stories usually flew right by me without really piercing my heart. This one did the job.



Thank you! I'd been mulling over Maeglin for a while, meaning to do something along these lines.

I'm glad you liked that bit - I loved the idea that Maeglin managed to make that sword despite Sauron.

I don't think of him as sad, emo Maeglin so much as battered, broken Maeglin. Poor boy tried so hard, but it still wasn't enough - and it was never going to be, not when he was up against Sauron and Morgoth.