I have a beef to pick with the maiko fandom which i wanted to wait till maiko week was over but anwyays:
This is especially with maiko creators making the fandom such a rigid place especially with treating fanon as canon and harassing others for not following through and half the reason as to why this fandom especially is withering compared to kataang fandom is because the fandom itself kicks people out and just ostracizes them.
Fandoms like kataang exists and is thriving cuz it's welcoming of new creators and ideas whereas maiko fandom rips it's fellow shippers cuz they failed to follow another person's hcs.
Since ashes came out, maiko shippers had different hcs about her career and how it will go when she gets married. Some say she'll stay and teach while others say she'll leave and work on expanding women's rights and opportunities and some say both.
What's the problem with this you may ask? The problem is some maiko shippers taking personal offense over a HEADCAON which isn't real but just words on the internet.
It's even worse when it's those really popular accounts who most shippers admire, can you even think about the emotional damage it may have caused? The creator who you looked up to is now calling u names cuz you didn't align with their views?
Another one is the "proper characterization" in fanfics. Ugh honestly it's just silly fanfics and even tho you're allowed to have ur preferences why do you feel the need to take it to the internet and who are you to cast rules to interpretation?
People can write/hc Mai to be jealous, there is nothing wrong with that, it's their writing,their internet, their space.
People can hc Mai to leave the academy and join the palace administration, it's their choice.
The entire magic of being in a fandom is having freedom, having the freedom to think, write, draw.
A while ago, I receive a message from a very beloved friends in the maiko fandom telling me about a post about me on x and I looked at it and it was so upsetting. This person had accused me of stealing headcanons out of all things.
My first instincts was to message the account and explain myself which i did and eventually I went into the thread and read over and over again. It was so upsetting I logged out of tumblr and x
But I realized why am I loosing sleep over a random person's interpretation of me? I know myself and my thought and I know I didn't copy because the headcanins I was accused of vry basic (non derogatory) I went and I brsvely defended myself on the internet.
And before the movie leaks came out, I was out of the maiko fandom for a few months because I was in a maiko space which was so toxic with occasional good times.
The maiko fandom is disappearing cuz of these prominent accounts who dont care about the other person, they're not here for fandom content, they're here to criticize as if they're paying these people to post what they're posting.
And even tho there is a level of necessity to calling people out like reposting art which is genuinely so weird, you can just talk to them privately and only if they aren't responding properly must you take it to the outer sphere.
Fanfic writers, hc blogs and fanarts don't owe you anything to perfectly go according to your hcs.
A few months ago I got harassed cuz I posted maiko pre breakup in the comics to the lyrics of "i'm losing myself and i'm afraid you're gonna lose me too" 😭😭😭 if u don't like what I'm posting you're free to scroll away.
If you guys want the maiko fandom to still exist and have an actual renaissance like kataang, I highly advice you to encourage your writers and artists and most importantly keep your opinions to yourself!!!!
Not even a freaking maiko reunion could fix this fandom unless you stop having a meltdown cuz a 12 yo maiko shipper wrote Mai as jealous
Go make oomfs! Go write stupid fics ad don't care if u made sure to write Mai with scientifically accurate hair color.
I'm not tagging anyone or sending hate to anyone, I'm just voicing my opinions and I don't care if u were to block me or talk bad about me in ur little gc
Writing this makes me feel so pathetic cuz I'm talking so seriously about. "Hcs" and "maiko" "fanfics" do you guys who go on everyday about ur little criticisms not feel the same way lmao?
Another thing which ive observed from a beloved account and their reason for leaving was weird people in the maiko fandom who supports gen0cide, r@pists and this is a horrible issue so go and support ur fellow maiko shipper even if they're even torn apart by a bigger person
Established gcs are so toxic if the people aren't welcoming but its especially toxic if the people in the gc aren't doing anything about a person's questionable behavior.
And to the people who had to leave cuz of the toxicity, I hope you can come back at ur own pace to fandom and people who look forward to ur posts♡