it's hard being a Black writer in fandom spaces.
As a Black writer, I don't feel like my voice gets the same room to exist. Not in spaces where certain characters get a thousand fics and deep analysis, while characters that look like me are often forgotten, sidelined, or simply not written for at all. While anything that highlights Blackness is treated as a niche genre rather than something universal.
Sometimes it feels like I'm arriving late to a party that's already over. The shows and movies I fall in love with, the ones that inspire me and light something in my chest, seem to gather hype fast, explode with energy, and then suddenly become a very niche interest. The conversation moves on, and I'm left with a folder of ideas and stories that I would love to embody, but I'm wondering if anyone would still care.
And when I do write, when I dare to share my world, characters, and imagination. I fear silence. Not beacause I need validation, but because sharing art feels like an offering of myself to others for consumption.
I get scared that I'll invest my precious time in a story, only for a fandom to move on before I even finish the second chapter. I'll put my heart into something that no one will pay mind to because it centers a Black character in a genre where we're usually erased.
I don't write to prove Black stories matter, I write because they always have.
