Tales from the Fandom David Ginsburg

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

I always love seeing who people are sharing on their instagram stories. It helps me find new people for this podcast, including today's guest, Yaya aka SpaceCowgirlYaya (or Yaya Cosplay). I fell in love with their traditional Mexican Sailor Moon Cosplay. I knew I needed to get her on the podcast to share her stories.
Yaya joins me as we divide the episode in two. The first half of the episode we're talking all about Cosplay. We talk about how Dragonball was her first entry point into anime and what she enjoys about that series. We also touch on anime like Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist, and Attack on Titan. It's a great reflection on where anime fit in Yaya's early life and where she is now with it.
In the second half, it's all about cosplay. We talk about how she first got into cosplay, and the motivation behind her Mexican infused cosplays such as the traditional Mexican Sailor Moon fuku, Charro Chibiusa, and Selena x Sailor Moon mashup. Yaya talks about what she's working on for the rest of the year, and the reception she's received with her work.
You can follow Yaya at: 
https://www.instagram.com/spacecowgirlyaya/
https://www.tiktok.com/@spacecowgirlyaya
https://beacons.ai/yayacosplay

Content Warnings: 18+, NSFW, Kink (further content warnings related to kink listed below) 
After a desire to read more and have more authors on the podcast, I made a post on Threads expressing that. The response was overwhelming, and our first Author joins me from that post, Ally Marr.
Ally and I talk first about Dungeons and Dragons. She talks about how she first got into playing, what hooked her into continuing to play, and how her play style has evolved since those first games. We also talk about other tabletop roleplaying games outside of the D&D sphere.
The possibility of romance and flirting within D&D leads us into a conversation about romance in that arena, alongside literature. This leads us into talking about Ally's work as an author.
37min 46seconds
CW: Kink, Bondage / BDSM, female dominance, orgasm denial
Ally talks about how she first started writing, and writing the stories that she wanted to read but didn't seem to find out there. We talk about her book, Desire for Dominance, which is the one I read. We talk about the characters, a bit of the plot, without spoiling the book. 
Ally mentions how she portrays the kink community and the positive response she's received thus far. We talk about the methods in how she writes, how her books come together, and her book that just released, Denial (the theme is orgasm denial), along with other works in progress.
You can find Ally and her work at:
https://www.allymarr.com/
Any kinks/warnings are listed on Ally's site above based on book.
https://www.instagram.com/ally_marr_/
https://www.threads.net/@ally_marr_
Desire for Dominance - https://amzn.to/3Q2xv4D
Denial - https://amzn.to/4cWi5IY
 

There's always guests that are into so many things that it is tough to contain it all in one episode. Today's guest, Heather Boddy, is one of those guests. She's into so much and does so much that we did our best to squeeze it all into one episode.
We kick things off with talking about the nostalgic movies from our childhood. For Heather, we talk about two that stuck with her - Gremlins and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She talks about how these movies were instrumental in her childhood, particularly Rocky Horror. 
From there, we go into Marvel. Not just Marvel Comics, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Heather talks about how she got into the Marvel side of life, and we talk about one of her favorite characters, She Hulk.
Then we talk all about Heather! We dive into the realm of Cosplay and how she was already into it without being into it (listen to the episode to understand that!). We talk about the business she launched, Geeknasium, which is nerdy workouts you can do in the comfort of your own home. And we talk about the podcast she co-hosts, Mental Health Multiverse, and what you can expect to hear.
Want more of Heather? You can find her at:
https://www.instagram.com/heatherboddy
https://www.tiktok.com/@heatherboddy
You can find Geeknasium at:
https://www.instagram.com/geeknasium/
14 Day Free Trial - https://app.arketa.co/geeknasium/pricing/checkout/yoQHqsBe0pZfItHQFiHm
Geeknasium Membership Page - https://mailchi.mp/25952ee55238/join-geeknasium
Geeknasium Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/482957442471972/?ref=share
You can find Mental Health Multiverse Podcast at:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mhmthepodcast

My first international guest of 2024! Polly aka Co_Mixed on the socials joins me from Serbia to talk all about her favorite fandoms. Note - there may be a few audio echoes in the episode.
Polly and I start things off with talking about Marvel. Not just the Cinematic Universe, but we start with a conversation about the comics, TV shows, and movies pre-MCU. Find out why Polly loves the X-Men, her rewatch of the X-Men animated series, and more. We talk about some of the pre MCU movies like Spider-Man and the X-Men movies, and we also delve into the Cinematic Universe with the movies and TV shows.
From there, we switch gears and go to Hell... or maybe a Hellmouth. We're talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We joke about some of the comics that came out post TV series, but we focus on the TV series. Polly talks about how she got into the show, some of her favorite characters, the Angel TV spin-off, among other things.
Then we're talking about the Battlestar Galactica reboot series. Find out who failed up in Polly's mind, some of the characters she doesn't like, her opinions on the show, and much more.
You can find Polly at:
https://www.threads.net/@co_mixed
https://www.instagram.com/co_mixed/
https://co-mixed.tumblr.com/