#obligatory disclaimer that I know they're just people and not perfect and etc

[stardustedknuckles]

It occurs to me to wonder, like. When is the last time a fandom was rewarded so much for loving something as hard as we love critical role? I don't necessarily mean rewarded as a transactional thing, though there's no denying that love translating to funding was a big part of this - I'm talking about stories that get told again in a new way so soon after ending and which the fans are grateful to have and eagerly looking forward to. We live in a world of unnecessary remakes of old IPs as thoughtless cash grabs, where smaller projects like roundtable stories are lucky to get comic versions and little more despite the authentic love powering them from creator and fandom alike.

The Mighty Nein were over. They ended, the way all stories do. We had no reason to think there would be more (aside from oneshots, which are another unique and sustaining feature of this medium) or that they would get the same opportunity that Vox Machina did because it is so rare. Unprecedented, really. There was every chance that CR would get one or two arcs animated for their first beloved story - still further than any project like this has gone before - and that would be all.

And instead their whole world has opened up. In the days of beloved shows being canceled left and right, the love and support Critical Role has cultivated among its fanbase just by being earnest and kind has ricocheted back into the world as so much opportunity and the stories that were over and done are getting new life. The Mighty Nein aren't over. They're coming back - and soon. When's the last time a fandom was unexpectedly given the chance to rise again and grow stronger instead of being suddenly cut short?

We couldn't have picked a better horse to bet on here, and this couldn't be happening to a better group of people. I hope Critical Role's success is a marker of things to come for the other, smaller projects of this sort - and I know the CR crew hopes the same.

[arofili]

okay so idk why but recently i saw a lot of people on my dashboard talking about how shipping incest is gross etc. and you shouldn't do it and now idk, does russingon count as incest? technically seen they're cousins, right? the same for russingold(?), i know a lot of people ship russingon but this really made me unsure because it's still incest, isn't it? anwyays, sorry for bothering you, i just don't know who to ask, i'm pretty new in the fandom

[obligatory disclaimer that this is just my opinion, i speak for no one but myself, and also that i’m exactly 0% interested in having a debate over shipping morality; you are free to unfollow/block me if you disagree but i’m not about to engage with this mess of a dis.course. anon seems to be asking in good faith which is why i am answering. keywords have been censored so they don’t show up in tags/searches.]

anon, it looks like you’ve stumbled into some shipping dis.course. there are people in fandom spaces who are all about ship purity and policing what “good” ships are and what ships are “problematic” and what ships make you a “bad person” for liking. my advice to you is stay away from all that nonsense! shipping is more than just “this is a perfect relationship i want them to be together forever uwu” - there’s lots of reasons to ship something, from exploring dynamics to finding their story interesting to just thinking it’s cute and/or hot and so on.

but onto your actual question: yes, Maedhros and Fingon are cousins, and yes, lots of people ship them together anyway! it seems you’re aware of Russingold, too, but there’s lots of ships between the Finwean cousins, pretty much every combination you can imagine! and between closer relations, also, though those tend to be less popular bc more people are squicked by them.

here in the Silm fandom - in my experience at least - most of us are not really concerned with ship dis.course, especially when it comes to in.cest. we have in.cest in our canon, and Tolkien made almost every goddamn character related to each other, so like...if you (general you) are gonna get up in arms about shipping related characters, this probably isn’t the fandom for you. that isn’t to say that if shipping in.cest makes you personally uncomfortable, you’re not welcome here - you can blacklist tags, create your own content, etc, whatever you want! but trying to police the Silm fandom for purity of content, especially purity of ships, is going to get you laughed out of the room, tbh.

the thing to remember is that this is fiction, not real life - real life in.cest is a very serious thing that is always wrong, but fictional in.cest is just not the same thing because no Real Live Person is getting hurt over it. two not-real elf cousins getting it on is not putting any real person in danger unless you decide to doxx someone over shipping dis.course.

in Silm canon we have the Idril and Maeglin situation that says elves don’t marry their cousins...but specifically for Russingon (and, by extension, Russingold) Tolkien actually has an exception in his “elves don’t do in.cest” rule for half-cousins that makes it okay in the eyes of Elf Society! i broke that down in a meta here, so definitely check that out. and regardless it is important to remember that Maedhros and Fingon are half-cousins, which is significant both when it comes to their ship potential and also to the plot of the Silm. (also worth pointing out that there’s irl historical precedent of in.cest in royal lines...not that that’s like, an excuse, or a good thing, or anything like that - but uniting your feuding sons’ lines by marrying their children to each other? that’s some interesting shit right there! that would make an excellent AU!)

tl;dr: yep, Maedhros and Fingon are cousins; they share a grandfather, but they have different grandmothers. so yeah, that’s technically in.cest. but your morality is not defined by what you ship. fictional relationships are not the same as real life relationships. honestly, Tolkien probably shipped Russingon (the rescue from Thangorodrim is the most goddamn homoerotic thing I’ve ever read and that’s after Chrissy T took a knife to it). you are not a bad person for shipping Russingon, and in fact you are in good company! there’s a reason Russingon is the most popular ship in the fandom :)

[plexusuterovaginalis]

hi! i’m the older college student anon from rad aligned. i read your addition to her post. i didn’t even fully synthesize that my anxiety had ‘types’ because it just looks like a massive blob to me. but yea, it’s both but definitely leans more to the second one. i would love to hear your own thoughts on it if you’d like to share. if not, thank you for your thoughtfulness either way.

hello dear anon<3 thank you for reaching out! i'm obviously no expert, but i hope my advice will help you somewhat. obligatory disclaimer that this is not medical/psychological advice i am not your doctor and this isn't replacement for therapy etc

firstly, it really may be helpful to explore those feelings and think about where they're coming from and what they are about. a blob of anxiety is unknown and scary, and its blobbiness probably makes it appear way bigger than it is. a general "AHHH IM ANXIOUS IDK WHAT TO DO I HATE THIS" is much more difficult to manage than "yeah, yeah, i'm a bit scared about what other people will think, but others have assured me that it doesn't matter and i have all these tools and coping mechanisms for when i get anxious." so, try to explore those feelings, probe your mind a little and ask yourself what exactly you're anxious about- that first day? making friends? smalltalk? feeling out of place? obligations to your parents/society/internalised feelings of shame? BUT note that you're not trying to trigger even bigger anxiety! so take it slow. take deep breaths, remember to look around you, stay conscious of your body and your surroundings. but i imagine that once you probe at it a little and figure out what exactly bothers you, it'll be easier to deal with.

secondly, it may be helpful to challenge your own inaccurate perceptions. after all, you don't know other people's internal lives, so you're probably imagining that everyone else around you is a perfect golden child who started college at 18 and graduates in 3-4 years with honours or something. the truth is, most people's educational timelines do not look like that at all. one of my friends is 26 and is just starting her bachelor's degree. another spent 2 years in a career she was unhappy with, and then switched to another, which means she'll be in college longer than expected, but she's so much happier. a guy i know had to pause college for a few years for financial reasons and then just continued where he left off. and so on and so forth. you're not the only person who didn't graduate at 21- in fact, i'd say those are more likely to be the exception rather than the norm. you said in your ask that you'd be in college until your mid-20s, so i'm guessing all those comments about people starting college late aren't helping- i'm guessing your situation is that you're taking "longer" to finish than you "should". it may help to keep in mind that it's not a linear thing, i've also known people who've been studying their 4-year subject for 6 years or more. you're not alone, it's normal to take some extra time. i don't know what you're studying and what your circumstances are, but it really doesn't matter. yes, even if you're failing a lot of exams or feel like you're being "lazy" or struggling with mental illness or disability or the pandemic or what do i know. ultimately, no one will care about it, especially once you get a job/move on in academia. you'll be fine <3 just recontextualise.

and finally, i really wish i could broadcast this to all women anxious about college: you are an intelligent, capable, competent woman. you are badass and smart and you wouldn't be in college if you didn't have what it takes. you can do this. even if you don't believe in yourself, i believe in you <3

i hope this was at least somewhat helpful! i'd love to hear from you again, i'll be thinking about you <3 much love from a fellow academic radfem