I'm really excited to have Byuka join me for this episode, as we've been in the same Twitch sphere for awhile and I really dig her work on Twitch. Plus, she's my first VTuber to be on the podcast! Heck, she's the first person I ever saw doing VTubing years ago.

We start things off with Final Fantasy! We talk about our first games in the franchise, the games we love, characters, music, and more. Plus, Byuka talks about her experience with the MMO, Final Fantasy 14.

Then we talk about world building video games. Games where you are the mastermind behind the games. We talk about games like The Sims, Animal Crossing, and Stardew Valley. Byuka talks about why she likes those style games and their appeal in being in charge of the world.

Lastly, we talk about her streaming on Twitch and VTubing. Byuka talks about how she got into streaming, her decision early on to do VTubing and the evolution of her appearance as the years have gone on. We talk about games she plays on stream, the community we both are in (Hyrule Gaming Group), and so much more.

You can find Byuka at:

https://www.twitch.tv/byuka

https://www.youtube.com/@byukablu

https://twitter.com/ByukaBlu

https://www.tumblr.com/byuka

May has one of the nerdiest days on the calendar, as Star Wars fans celebrate May the 4th! Plus, there is Revenge of the 5th, and I like to think we can celebrate Revenge of the 6th as well. Tiara aka Crafting_on_Ilum joins me to talk all about Star Wars and Cosplay!

We talk all about the franchise that is in a galaxy far, far away. From her first exposure to Star Wars, to some of her favorite media and characters. We talk a bit at length about The Phantom Menace, along with the latest show, The Bad Batch (recorded prior to the finale) We ponder upcoming works and what still keeps her in the fandom.

Tiara also talks about the intersection of her Star Wars fandom with her cosplay. From how she got into Cosplay, the cosplays that she's created and work she has put in, and what she would like to do in the future.

You can find Tiara at:

https://www.instagram.com/crafting_on_ilum/

https://www.tiktok.com/@craftingonILUM

https://linktr.ee/craftingonilum

Continuing on with bringing authors to your ears, I was lucky enough to have Carolina Cardona aka TheTropicalEccentric, join me to talk about fandom and her work as an Author!

We first kick things off with talk about Anime. Carolina talks about growing up in Puerto Rico and the anime that was shown there, and then her transition to living in New Orleans and her anime experiences there. We discuss some of the anime we both grew up on as kids, anime like Attack on Titan, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and what kind of anime she enjoys.

We blend that conversation into a conversation about Japan as a whole. Carolina talks about her experiences in Japan, what draws her to visiting there, and why she thinks everyone should visit the country at least once.

Then we get to talk about her work as an Author. Carolina talks about her writing and creative process, and we talk about her book, Andújar: The Robot Gentleman of San Juan. We talk about the plot and setting, and focus on the two main characters - Santos and Violeta, along with the historical backdrop that their story unfolds with. Violeta will surprise you! We also talk about some of her upcoming works in progress, and that Andújar will be translated/published in Spanish later this year!

You can find Andújar: The Robot Gentleman of San Juan at Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, Barnes and Noble, and Ingram Spark.

https://amzn.to/4aTlhUq

You can find Carolina at:

https://www.carolinacardona.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thetropicaleccentric/

https://www.threads.net/@thetropicaleccentric