Tales from the Fandom David Ginsburg

The first official episode of Year 8 begins with one of my longtime friends. You may have heard her many years ago on a Game of Thrones episode, but now, I have Katherine joining me for her first stand alone episode!
Katherine and I have known each other since 9th grade, so you're not only getting the podcast episode, but you're getting some throwback stories as well!
We kick things off with a conversation about roleplaying games. We're covering Tabletop Games like Dungeons and Dragons (including Eberron!) to live action roleplaying games, like Vampire: The Masquerade and fantasy LARP's like NERO. Katherine talks about her experiences, how she got introduced to both kinds of gaming and what keeps her coming back for more.
From there, we talk about her love of Vampires and how she got hooked into the Horror genre. From classic VHS tapes at a young age, to going all out for Halloween, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal, and so much more. You'll find out what kind of genre that Katherine is into and some of her favorites.
We talk about her love of True Crime as well, including her stay at the Lizzie Borden house. Then we wrap up with Professional Wrestling. Katherine talks about some of her favorite wrestlers, PPV experiences, and much more.
It was truly special to have Katherine on and getting to share her love of fandoms and some of our stories from "back in our day"
You can listen to Katherine on the Game of Thrones Season 7 Review here:
https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/game-of-thrones-season-7-review

Another year. We're now at Eight! Eight years of doing the podcast. Thank you to all who listen, support, and come on as guests to share your stories.
This year, Taylor aka TayMakesMagic on IG returns. We get to catch up, and then dive into the history of the podcast. From the creation of the podcast, to highlights, and memorable moments. Plus, you get to hear about some of the behind the scenes of the podcast. My day to day, the editing process, and guests themselves. And some possible other podcast projects are tossed around.
Plus, Taylor gets to talk about some of her new cosplays, her job, and some looks to the future.
Take a listen, go follow Taylor, and onward to Year 9!
You can listen to Taylor's original episode at:
https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-292-taylor-aka-taymakesmagic-talks-disney-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-steven-universe-disneybounding-cosplay
You can find Taylor at:
https://www.instagram.com/taymakesmagic/

A Taylor Swift centric episode was always going to be in the works. It was just a matter of when, where, and with who. After a successful first leg of The Eras Tour, and with the release of it into the movie theater and then Disney Plus, it was the perfect time to sit down and talk about Taylor, the tour, and the differences from Tour to Theater to streaming.
Kris aka cafe.contessa on IG returns for her 5th episode as we talk all things Taylor. Kris is a Swiftie and its through her that we can explore all three Eras Tours experiences, as she has done all three. She went to the concert in Tampa, saw that Tour in the theater, and then watched on Disney Plus.
We talk all about the differences in the experiences, from songs to timing, and to general vibes and what in-person vs at home viewing offers. Kris and I talk about her wardrobe, song choices, and viewing experience with the set design and choreography.
This was recorded prior to The Tortured Poets Department and subsequent European leg of the tour.
You can find Kris at:
https://www.instagram.com/cafe.contessa/
You can listen to her previous episodes here:
https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-322-kris-lozano-returns-and-talks-dystopian-movies
https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/final-fantasy-35th-anniversary-special
 https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/avatar-the-last-airbender-15th-anniversary-special
https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-174-kris-lozano
 

The final episode of May brings Bri aka Disbri_Nerd on Instagram to the podcast!
We talk about some of her favorite fandoms, and of course, we get to talk about Cosplay too.
Bri and I first start talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We talk about what movie she got her start with, and some of her favorite movies. We talk favorite characters, what keeps her coming back to the MCU, and what she's looking forward to in the future.
Then we flip from the MCU to a galaxy far, far away. We're talking Star Wars! Bri and I cover how she first got into the movies and a certain scene she may have seen over and over and over again. We talk about the movies, the TV shows, the characters she loves, and more. 
Bri then talks about Cosplay. She talks about how she got into cosplay, some of the characters she represents, being a part of the Real Assemblers, and some of her plans for the future.
You can find Bri at:
https://www.instagram.com/disbri_nerd/
https://www.tiktok.com/@disbri_nerd
You can find The Real Assemblers at:
https://www.instagram.com/therealassemblers/
 

Pre aka WariWariWay returns to the podcast after 3 years to catch up and talk about some old and new fandoms.
We start things off with a quick conversation about the Live Action versions of Avatar: The Last Airbender, One Piece, and their ties to their original animated works and bringing new fans into the space.
Then we really kick things off with a talk about one of Pre's favorite fandoms, Tekken. We talk about what attracted her to the fighting franchise, the characters she likes, and most importantly, the Tekken community.
Blended into the Tekken conversation and standing on its own is a conversation about Final Fantasy 14. It's a fandom that was/is very influential with Pre, and she talks about the FF14 community as it relates to not just the game, but cosplay as well, especially with social media.
We also talk about her semi-hiatus from Cosplay, what she may be working on in the future, and what she's done over the past few years with cosplay. We also talk about how she has started streaming again on Twitch and what you can expect to find from her channel.
Then, we enter into the K-Pop realm. Pre and I talk about K-Pop groups, how to go about finding a K-Pop group that may fit your vibe, and some of the groups she recommends. She also put a playlist together that you can take a listen to, to start your journey into K-Pop!
You can listen to Pre's first episode at:
https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-209-pre-aka-cupofpre-talks-avatar-the-last-airbender-the-tales-of-video-game-series-final-fantasy-and-cosplay
You can find Pre at:
https://www.instagram.com/wariwariway/
https://www.tiktok.com/@wariwariway
You can listen to Pre's K-Pop playlist at:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3aEXlM9vpt0238FwkaRrXm?si=h91ZGHYuQc6c6Jmr_L5BMg&pi=u-cAPLRICGRoag
YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGoDdNDYMJA9wE6-LjCf5WFK-waz5wHA0&si=d_YwkWzn-2UZ-yTx
 

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