We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lydiah M. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lydiah below.

Lydiah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The Ebony Witch.

When I was a tween, I was deep into fandom culture. Before that, my media diet mostly consisted of TCM movies—because after cram school, that’s all that was on. TV was strictly forbidden except on school breaks, so I had to rely on a strong imagination to fill in the blanks of the shows I’d miss. Because of that, I accidentally became a classic film buff.

Then came my Twilight phase, and somewhere in that mix, I started noticing a frustrating pattern—my favorite characters never got their happy endings. At first, I thought it was just unfair. My favorite film, Ladyhawke, had a sad storyline, but even then, its characters never suffered like Bonnie from The Vampire Diaries. But that was just her arc, right? Still, it bummed me out.

Then I realized it kept happening. Not just to Bonnie—characters I rooted for, like Allura, Guinevere, Aisha, and most recently, Mel. The Black and brown girls, the ones I projected onto the most (I was ten leave me alone), kept dying, losing their happily ever after, or worst of all, fading into the background as the story went on. I know now that prejudice played a role in this pattern, but as a kid, I just kept waiting. Waiting for one good storyline where their existence wasn’t centered around trauma.

I wanted one cute moment. One epic adventure. And when it didn’t happen, I started drawing them myself. That’s how The Ebony Witch was born.

Why this project matters

Media shapes us whether we want to believe it or not. It’s a cycle—art imitates life, and life imitates art. So when media repeatedly reinforces negative stories about certain characters, it does affect people.

In the stories I loved, I was often denied true escapism. If a character looked like me, odds were high that they’d suffer in some way. Maybe they’d face racism. Maybe they’d just straight-up die (it’s always a sacrifice). Maybe they’d be discarded, shown they weren’t worthy of love. It happened often enough that I became more surprised when it didn’t happen. And worst of all, when you try to bring it up, people gaslight you into thinking it’s not there—because saying it out loud does sound far-fetched.

But it keeps happening.

So, I quit fandom. I know it’s a beautiful space that brings creatives together, I’ve seen how fun and engaging it is to be in the community of a shows niche, but I just got rather tired of it all, as it is I barely finish shows anymore. I’ve learned never to get too invested. Because why should I keep being punished for wanting a happy ending? I’m not ruining my week with fandom discourse. I’ll just watch a documentary—currently, I’m watching Harry Clarke – Darkness in Light—and if I want a fun fantasy, I’ll make one myself.

I work in entertainment. I’m in the pipeline. I’ve survived heinous crunch times I can do this!

So, I made The Ebony Witch. A story where the protagonist isn’t just surviving—she’s thriving. She’s a witch because witches are amazing. She has the fluffiest afro—so big that her hair routine would make anyone envious. She has a werecat for a dad. Her best friend is a sock-monkey-teddy-bear-thing that’s kinda ugly-cute. She goes on epic adventures, and it’s awesome.

The impact

What started as a fun side project—my own personal TV show—has breached containment.

People connected with it. I started getting messages from readers thrilled to see our tale of a girl carving out a place for herself in a world that’s stacked against her. People were excited to see her learn magic, find friends, fall in love, lead a rebellion, and just live her life.

I’ve met young readers—some as young as six—who are excited for our Witchlets journey. And my favorite reader? She’s in her 70s and has been following the story for almost five years now.

This project, which started as a way to improve my art skills and basically write fanfiction, has grown into something that brings joy to others. And if I can make even one person feel wondrous, if I can make them believe they are beautiful, strong, powerful, and worthy of all they desire—

Then that’s good enough for me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi there! I’m Poppihin.
I’m an animator and caffeine enthusiast! I work in game development and freelance character animation, and I’m currently developing an indie fantasy show called The Ebony Witch.

If you know anything about me, it should be that I like making things—especially art—and telling stories that can light up someone’s day or comfort them for a bit.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

If i have one goal its to make a black girl coming of age story with magic and wonder! Its my raison d’etre.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love creating—it’s its own reward. Most of the time, I keep my projects small, sharing them in tiny presentations with friends. But The Ebony Witch is different—it’s one of the few projects I’ve made public. Seeing how happy it’s made people and the little impact it has already had before its launch is truly endearing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.poppihin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppihin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/@ndanudraws
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Poppihin

Image Credits

All Images Belong to Poppihin LLC