Part I:Summary regarding Maeglin in relationships in general and Canon CR chart
Part II:CR chart for Arda Marred

SUMMARY

Maeglin is a person who is on a very fundamental level unlikely to form relationships in which he reveals much about himself or that cut very deep. This does not mean that he doesn't long for it; he simply has grown up in a way that has convinced him that if he must strongly conform to what is appropriate and makes him find a place in any given situation or relationship, that it is impossible to be truly open or fully himself in front of anyone. He makes up for this with being perceptive and paying close attention to other people and his surroundings, so that it is very unlikely that anyone will notice how much he truly hides. He is, on the other hand, a man with a strong sense of honour and loyalty and can, while he isn't the most sociable or chatty person and can at times be unnervingly devoid of emotion, command both loyalty and trust. He likes to learn from others and does so eagerly and swiftly, but also likes to pass his knowledge on. He's wise and careful in counsel, but valiant and hardy when needed, and a good, fearless fighter. He's usually a reliable, hardworking and tireless worker, always up to work for the advancement of the group and himself. He's incredibly stubborn and won't abandon a goal, and is very ambitious. This doesn't mean that he is impatient, ruthless or can't suffer tactical or otherwise necessary delays. Under normal circumstances, he may be opportunistic and jealous, but never immoral or unlawful. Also, if you earn his loyalty or hatred you will never get rid of it. All in all, he's a good ally to have, but calling oneself his friend is much harder and more complicated. A good part of this is rooted in the first 80 years of his life, that is his youth, childhood and the time up to and shortly after his parents' deaths.

CANON RELATIONSHIPS

♥ AREDHEL (MOTHER) ♠ EÖL (FATHER) ♦ TURGON (UNCLE) ♣ IDRIL (COUSIN)

( AREDHEL AR-FEINIEL mother; eöl's wife, turgon's sister ) Not as easy as it looks or when we start to make major decisions for each other and accept them like it is natural, is that still healthy? ( back ) → wiki	( EÖL father; aredhel's husband ) Calling this relationship "troubled" might be a contender for "most massive understatements of the Silmarillion". ( back ) → wiki
( TURGON uncle; aredhel's brother ) (my current headcanon, open to discussion/changes if a Turgon happens :3) Maeglin's relationship with Turgon is very assymetric, and that not even mainly in the obvious power dissonance of a ruling king and his orphaned nephew with no inheritance: Turgon quickly levels that as much as possible, making Maeglin the lord of one of Gondolin's houses and adding him to his councils, treating him every bit the lost son of his lady sister. It is assymetric in terms of knowledge, security and affection. Turgon knows, in the end, very little about Maeglin - the only source of knowledge for that would be Maeglin himself, and the young Elf keeps much to himself - wishes and trauma, fears and thoughts and history - to fit in, be liked and find his place, and also because he simply never learnt to verbalize any of it properly, safe perhaps towards his mother. In turn, there is a stark discrepancy in age between Maeglin and everyone else in the city, and much that is only stories for him is lived history for everyone else. Turgon has shown Maeglin honour and friendliness and love, and Maeglin returns this investment with strong positive feelings, including love and loyalty. After his mother's death, a good chunk of the feelings that he had for his mother turned to Turgon, but he is also keenly aware that he doesn't have much history with his uncle and no matter what he would do wouldn't be his most important person - that is Idril. Which means that Idril mistrusting and disliking him is a constant threat to this most important relationship, at least in Maeglin's eyes, because he is certain that Turgon would always choose her over him. Maeglin wants his uncle's love and respect desperately (practically spoken, he in a way also needs them to keep his social standing, though his house is loyal to him and he supplies the city with necessary resources and expertise) and in the end feels that he would lose both if he truly showed himself with all that he is, so exactly his wish to be close to him means that he hides parts of his thoughts and feelings and history from his uncle. ( back ) → wiki	( IDRIL CELEBRINDAL cousin; turgon's daughter ) Maeglin arrives in Gondolin together with his mother, and while he goes through all the correct motions (showing respect to Turgon, taking him as his lord, pledging loyalty, etc) and is immediately promised the "highest honour" in Gondolin (whatever that means), he remains mostly silent and watchful because - well, country bumpkin in a big city for the first time. "Yet to none were his eyes more often drawn than to Idril the King's daughter, who sat beside him; for she was golden [...] and she seemed to him as the sun from which all the King's hall drew its light." But the joy of Aredhel (and Maeglin) being returned to her brother and niece is short-lived, as his father shows up shortly after and in an attempt to kill Maeglin murders his mother. Aredhel and Idril had pleaded for Eöl's life (likely at least partly out of the impetus that Turgon, who up to this point wasn't a kinslayer, shouldn't become one) but the Aredhel dies of her wounds and Eöl is executed. Maeglin has during all of this remained silent and not intervened in any of the going-ons. His father, right before being executed, curses him. And then we learn: "But Idril was troubled, and from that day she mistrusted her kinsman [Maeglin]". Why? It's not explained. Maeglin prospers and grows influential in Gondolin, and then we read: "Thus all seemed well with the fortunes of Maeglin, who had risen to be mighty among the princes of the Noldor, and greatest save one in the most renowned of their realms. Yet he did not reveal his heart; and though not all things went as he would he endured it in silence, hiding his mind so that few could read it, unless it were Idril Celebrindal. For from his first days in Gondolin he had borne a grief, ever worsening, that robbed him of all joy: he loved the beauty of Idril and desired her, without hope. The Eldar wedded not with kin so near, nor ever before had any desired to do so. And however that might be, Idril loved Maeglin not at all; and knowing his thought of her she loved him the less. For it seemed to her a thing strange and crooked in him, as indeed the Eldar ever since have deemed it: and evil fruit of the Kinslaying, whereby the shadow of the curse of Mandos fell upon the last hope of the Noldor. But as the years passed still Maeglin watched Idril, and waited, and his love turned to darkness in his heart. And he sought the more to have his will in other matters, shirking no toil or burden, if he might thereby have power." Well, later Idril will marry a human, and have a child with him, and then when Maeglin is captured by Morgoth and breaks down to tell him where Gondolin is hidden, one of the things promised to Maeglin for his cooperation is Idril's hand. But that is far in the future... Notes: I do not, in any shape or form, condone the opinion that Idril is a bad person for not having returned Maeglin's romantic feelings (the question if her treatment of him as a fellow elven being was reasonable/fair is a different issue). I also consider a reading uncanonically in which Maeglin in any shape or form forces himself on her.( back ) → wiki

ARDA MARRED CR
ZELGADIS gathersnomoss ♕ What a shady figure.	GLORFINDEL thebalrogslayer ♕ Something happened between the pull-points, and it's kind of putting a strain on this relationship. BUT WHAT.	ZHANEEL bondedgryphon ♕ I know so much about you and yet I understand so little.	ARAGORN rangerandking ♕ Huor and Húrin had a better grasp on hair care than you, so it's probably not down to your race.	CELEBRIMBOR silverfist ♕ We have a lot in common but it's still pretty off-putting that you know me and I don't know you.
LINDIR lindir ♕ You talk strange, but I have no actual opinion yet.	MORGOTH belegurth ♕ WHY. ARE. YOU. HERE. As if we didn't have enough problems already.	FINROD songofstaying ♕ Family, so far it seems pleasant enough.	MAEDHROS paleglitter ♕ More family that so far seems pleasant enough.	JULIEN espigeonage ♕ Giant bird that claims to be a Man.
MAHANON hallaherald ♕ Elf with tattoos. He also seems nice and pretty good to have as a friend.	KÍLI youngestone ♕ There is a dwarf! Who is close to an elf not his father. Huh.	EÄRENDIL marinering ♕ It would be a lot easier if he could take issue with Eärendil as a person, but he really only takes issue with him as a concept. #maeglinproblems	character journal ♕ Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi at dapibus sapien. Donec nunc ligula, imperdiet sed imperdiet nec, laoreet ac lectus.	character journal ♕ Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi at dapibus sapien. Donec nunc ligula, imperdiet sed imperdiet nec, laoreet ac lectus.
credit: exclusive

Curses:

Maeglin is said to be under the Doom of Mandos ("Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. [...] To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass."), despite only having been born a good deal after it was issues.
He also was cursed by his father, twice: The first time with a Casuistic Curse ("If you stay here, you will be cursed"), the second time directly and with a very specific content right before he is cast to his death off the city walls ("Here you shall fail of all your hopes, and here may you yet die the same death as I.")


Dwarves:

Often Maeglin went with Eöl to the cities of the Dwarves in the east of Ered Lindon, and there he learned eagerly what they would teach, and above all the craft of finding the ores of metals in the mountains. [Dwarves & Eöl: Eöl was their guest in Nogrod and Belegost. He gave them news about what passed in the lands of the Elves and learned from them. He went to Nogrod as a guest for every midsummer of the Dwarves. For the Dwarves he had more liking than any other of the Elvenfolk of old, and he seems to have patiently and slowly made really good friends with them, from which his son could profit.] Maeglin claims that he has learned everything that the Dwarves "will reveal" to him.

Heritage:

His maternal grandfather is of Noldorin-Vanyarin heritage, his maternal grandmother is probably Noldorin. Those members of his maternal family that live in Middle-earth are all immigrants, he belongs to the first generation born there. Check out the house of Finwë, yo.

His paternal family is unknown, but we have some leads. In the Silmarillion, Eöl is in turns described as "of old of the kin of Thingol", "a tall Elf of a high kin of the Teleri" and "of the kindred of the Sindar". We know that he originally lived in Doriath before moving to Region and then to Nan Elmoth.
There is a discussion that Eöl may be Nandorin: "The name of the Dark Elf Eöl cannot be analyzed (WJ:320). It is hinted that Eöl belonged to the Nandor (WJ:322)." (source).
Now it is technically possible that an Elf who was driven out of Region by the establishment of the girdle had Nandorin ancestors, because Denethor had led his Nandor into Beleriand before that ("long years of peace before the war that lead up to the establishment of the Girdle" is the dating). But it seems odd that a member of a group that settled in Ossiriand would be from central Doriath, remove himself to outer Region and then when the Girdle is established and he doesn't want to live inside it not head southeast to Ossiriand where his people live but to some place in the northeast. Plus Eöl's main point of hatred is that the Noldor have slewn Telerin kin and taken their homes - that really sounds more like a Sindarin grief, and particularly like the grief of someone who has at least loose ties to Thingol. Sure, he could just try to fit in, but. Eöl. Fitting in. Uhm. Plus the text is very clear on that he is not only Sinda but also related to Thingol.
So maybe one of his parents is Nandorin and the other Sindarin? This is of course possible. Sure, Doriath and Ossiriand aren't particularly close, but it were peaceful times, his parents could have met and the Nandorin one relocated.
Remains the fact that he is, two times, called a Sinda in the Silm (going with how Tolkien talks about the Elven races, the high kin of the Teleri would be the Sindar or Falmari), despite his name not being Sindarin (to our knowledge of the language, which is rather meagre, so how much does that say...) and it being hinted that he is Nandorin by Tolkien in another context. So either we have a case of hardcore denial of half of his heritage going on here (which is of course possible, but why?) or we have a case of Tolkien reconsidering someone's heritage (this would not. Exactly be the only time. At all).

In the end, I think it's up to the reader, and I myself play it as Maeglin thinking that his father is fully Sinda and some kind of (maybe distant) cousin to Thingol, because that is what Eöl told him. I'm always happy to attach him to more Doriathrim :3 Don't u want a half-Noldorin traitor in your family?

We don't know who the people that live with Eöl are. They'd definitely be Teleri, and just due to the location it is more likely that they're Sindar than Nandor.


Name:

Lómion (at birth: Child of the Twilight - Noldorin Quenya): Aredhel named him for the place of his birth, Nan Elmoth: The trees of Nan Elmoth were the tallest and darkest in all Beleriand, and the sun never reached the bottom of the forest.
Maeglin (at 12: Sharp Glance - Sindarin): Eöl perceived that the eyes of his son were more piercing than even his own, and that his thought could read the secrets of hearts beyond the mist of words.

Power Opt-In

1. Sanwe-layta (telepathy): Maeglin can read people's thoughts and minds (parts of their mind that they aren't actively thinking about at the moment). As a teenager of less than 80 years, he was already good enough to do this without the person noticing as long as they had their guard down; it is likely that he would be quite capable of doing more now, over a century later. It isn't stated, but is likely that he can at least somewhat send words and imaginary into other minds too.
If he couldn't/if you don't want him to read your character’s mind/speak to them telepathically or if there's special conditions, please tell me so here!

2. Being an elf, Maeglin can communicate with animals to a degree. If he wouldn't be able to/if you don't want him to communicate with your character's pets/companion animal/etc please tell me here!

PLAYER
Name: Kira
Age: over 20
Personal Journal: narva
E-mail: whatisnarva at gmail
AIM/MSN/etc: narwa

CHARACTER
Name: Maeglin (mothername that is pretty much secret: Lómion)
Canon: Tolkien's Middle Earth Compendium
Age: 189 | looks ageless (20-ish?)
Timeline: 509 1st age
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: N/A

Personality: We are expecting at least THREE well-written paragraphs minimum, with references to canon examples of your character’s personality where available. Please provide us with insight to your character and their behaviour, their likes, dislikes and fears, as well as your understanding of them. We would also like to see details of your character's strengths and weaknesses, which may include physical, psychological and emotional.

Background: Here is where we would like to see information about your character's history and their place within their canon. This can be written if you wish, or you can link to any wikis and relevant resources.

Abilities: Is your character an accomplished carpenter? Can they shoot laser beams from their eyes or travel through time? If they possess any abilities, learned or otherwise, they need to go in this section.

Network/Actionspam Sample:

[The feed is video, but it only shows the sky. The voice that speaks up after a moment is carefully calm and collected, projecting pride and control, darkness hiding all that may lie underneath.]

This place is neither terrible nor pleasant enough to be one of His illusions. So ...if those signs do indeed speak the truth, and I have been taken here in body and mind, and if indeed this place is out of His reach, I have two questions to ask of you, people of this city.

Is there a way prevent to oneself from being returned whence one came from?

And I will be in need of shelter and work. My expertise lies with mining and the working of metals and other work such as is done in a forge, yet until such time when food and shelter are secure, there is little that I will not work.

Thank you.

[He almost closes the feed before he makes up his mind and his voice sounds out again.] Also, if one has a lampstone, or material and tools as are needed to create one, I will be grateful if I would be allowed to borrow it until such day when I am able to afford my own.


Prose Log Sample: This is the format that will be used in rubycity_logs and must be a minimum length of 250 words. This sample must be in prose format (paragraphs, no brackets) and should show character reactions/introspection. It does not need to be in game's setting, but it must demonstrate your character as you are apping them. This sample may be linked, either from a musebox, different game or our test drive, provided that the linked example was written within the last six months.