In the darkness of night, hidden beneath the covers, one small hand grips a book while the other aims a dying flashlight at the words held within. Eyes squint in the dim, yellow light, fatigue threatening to whisk their owner away from the world they are currently experiencing.

This happened frequently when I was growing up, as I became so enthralled with fictional worlds that I would stay up as late as I thought I could get away with, unwilling to go to sleep without finding out what happened next. Stories were thrilling, containing multitudes of adventures that I could go on without leaving my house.

My love of stories has not abated. In fact, it has only grown stronger over the years. Seemingly contradictory is the fact that I have become increasingly picky about the media I consume. As I’ve gotten older, Fandoms have placed a strong emphasis on representation and diversity, especially in recent years, and as a result I’ve come to notice that many pieces of mainstream media are overwhelmingly white. For someone who is especially fond of superheroes and comic books, this is both extremely prevalent and inherently disappointing. After all, discrimination doesn’t seem very heroic.

Therefore, I have made the decision to try and be as inclusive and realistic in my character design for my works as possible, which means that I need to be able to accurately and fairly represent people of all different backgrounds.

Hence, this blog. This is a space where I will examine Asian Americans in popular culture.