NZXT PODCAST - #128 - Pridecast #4 (Ft. Whinnaay)

Episode Date: June 30, 2022

This week on the podcast, we were joined by NZXT Partner and #Pride Ambassador: Whinnaay for our final Pridecast! We talked about Genshin Impact, pride, and Whinnaay's obsession with Sonic and her roleplaying as a Sonic character on Twitter! Also, we learned that Mike used to make Club Penguin Music Videos... Follow Whinnaay at twitter.com/whinnaay Tune in live every Thursday at 10AM PT on twitch.tv/NZXT and send your questions to: [e-mail]

Oh, or hold on my, the audio. Uh-oh. Hold on. The video just went poop. Hold on. Let me get that real quick. Whoops. Oh, sorry, y'all.

Small technical difficulties. Of course, as soon as I go live, it has to do this to me. Wouldn't be a proper stream without a being scoff. We're good. For some reason, my video is being really awkward right now. There we go. We're good. Okay.

Hello everyone. Welcome to episode 128 of the NZXT podcast, the official podcast of the NZXD community. This podcast is recorded live every Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific Center time on the official NZXT Twitch and is available to stream on demand on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud. My name is Mike Kim. Sadly, Ivan is out due today for some emergencies and stuff like that. So I'm running solo. and today I have with our final Pride ambassador for Pride Month, Winne or Winnie. How are you doing? Hello, everyone. I'm doing great, Mike. Thank you again for having me come on the Pridecast.

Really, really excited, really nervous too. But looking forward to share my experiences with everyone today. Don't feel nervous. This is going to be super easy, super, basically it's going to be just a standard podcast. So don't feel bad at all. And we're going to go ahead and just go into first. First, for those that are watching, we kind of want to ask who you are, your pronouns, and then what do you do? Yeah, of course.

So my name is people know me as Winnie. You can also call me Winnie Erwin. My pronouns are she slash her. And what do I do? Well, I am a streamer, and I like to provide a safe space for anyone who likes to come by my stream. and just, you know, provide a little bit of relaxation, a moment where people can get away and just forget about the problems for at least a little bit. But otherwise, I'm just, I'm just a human being. I'm just like you all that like to play games and be happy and live life to the fullest.

Love that. It's so sweet. So what games do you play on stream, by the way? So I mostly stream a game called Genshin Impact. Some of you may be familiar with it. For those who don't know what that is, it's basically a, it's known as a gotcha pawn game. And what that means is it's free to play. And how the game makes their money is through pulls or roles for characters and weapons that are very rare. So, yeah, so there's, there's an element of gambling, but you don't need to spend money to enjoy the game.

You can be completely free to play. And it's still a very, very, very. very fun experience. Love it. To go a little bit to Genschen Impact, how did you get into it? Because you are currently a Genschen Impact creator, correct? Yeah.

So I'm an official content creator in their, yeah, in their content creator program. They have a program for, you know, like artists, YouTubers, streamers, and anyone that creates, yeah, content for the game. So how I found out about Genshin, I think, was because of friends. So I think like even,

back in 2020, 2020, 2021, there was a trailer that was released for the game, and people were really into it because a lot of people said that, oh, this looks like Breath of the Wild. And we all know how amazing of a game Breath of the Wild is. It just looked very, very similar. People were like, oh, this is an anime version, or like, you know, it's Breath of the Wifus because there's like a bunch of different good-looking characters. And I really personally enjoyed Breath of the Wild. So I was looking super, super forward to that game.

And then, you know, when it came out, everyone was like streaming it, everyone was playing it. And so I gave it a try. And yeah, I've stuck with it pretty much ever since. I love that. So how has it been being a creator with them? Like, how did that happen? So for me, I personally think that I don't have a lot of artistic talent. Like, I'm not very good at drawing.

I don't really have a creative eye. So how I got into the program was through streaming. So I started streaming a bit over a year ago, I believe, in February or March of 2021. You know, when COVID was still around, Twitch was at the peak of its popularity. Everyone was trying out new things to stay, you know, to keep engaged when we were stuck at home. And streaming has always been something that I've been interested in and intrigued by. So when I finally got a gaming PC, I was like, you know, this is my chance to try it. out. So I started streaming and just because it just so happened that Genshin, it was like the game

that I was playing the most at the time. So I thought, you know, like, why not stream it? Back then, I just thought streaming is just something that I'll do while I'm like playing games. I don't have any high expectations for it. And yeah, it just grew into something that like, thanks to streaming Genshin, I've been able to meet so many new friends, so many. new people and had so many opportunities to do more and get involved. And the program was one of them. So basically you just, yeah, you sign up. And it's based on like a minimum number of like followers or like viewers. And I remember when I finally hit the threshold, I was really, really excited. And like, they ask you to fill out this application and send in your like best content, exceptional content.

So I remember looking through like my bots and like my clips and just trying to see like oh like you know like what we'll get them to accept me. And that happened in like November, December of last year. And yeah, I've been a content creator officially ever since. Wow, that's awesome. Well, so what were you doing before like COVID and then started streaming? Like what was the lead up to that point? So I would actually say like even, you.

even today I wouldn't consider myself a full-time streamer. I think it is, I have so much respect for people that can stream and make content full-time. I feel like it's very, very hard to get to a point in life. Because, like, you know, most content is, is like, you know, out there. It's free. It's very, there's not a lot of barriers to entry to being a content creator slash streamer. And it's just hard to live comfortable. off of that income that you make solely from streaming slash content creation.

But before I started streaming, I worked full-time at a local tech startup. I really, really enjoy working in tech and in startups. It's a very, very flexible work culture. And I feel that the smaller the company, the more value that you can make. So I worked as a, I guess you could say, like, it's technical support, but it's for the product. So, yeah, so it's kind of like customer service, but not as soul-sucking as working at a call center.

And you're still like doing a lot of troubleshooting and solving problems. And because these, you know, the people that you're talking with are their clients. So you can have the opportunity to build more of a lasting relationship with them since they keep coming back. So, yeah, that was what I did before I start streaming. Interesting, interesting.

And so transition from like, doing tech, basically tech support, kind of a little bit more like sale can be kind of thing, to going into this full world of physically working with PCs and streaming everything like that. Did you have any like difficulties or anything like that when you first started streaming? That's a really good question, Mike. I'm trying to think, I feel like for me when I first started streaming, I think I was hesitant to stream because I kind of knew how much of a effect. would have on my life. And what I mean by that is when you're streaming, and especially if you're

taking streaming seriously, it's definitely a lifestyle change. Because now for me, whenever, whenever I'm thinking of like, you know, doing other things in my life, I have to think, oh, like, you know, I want to, I'm streaming like Monday, Wednesdays and Saturdays. So I have to keep those evenings free. And I have to keep in mind like, oh, like, if I want to do something during those times, then I have to reschedule. And also for me, I just feel like I'm, I wouldn't say I'm competitive, but I want to give my best shot at whatever I throw myself into. So for me, I like tried, I tried hard and I still do try hard, I think, with streaming. Like, I want it to be like a good experience for everyone. I want to continue to make sure that people, that come to my

streams, like, you know, they have a good time and they're entertained. So that means, so that means, you know, coming up with new ideas to keep everyone engaged and stuff like that. So, yeah, I think that was the, oh, sorry, is there? Oh, no, go for it. Oh, no, I was just going to say that. Yeah, so I think when I first started streaming, even though I didn't have, I kept my expectations low and I told myself that, you know, even if a few people come by my stream, like every time and, you know, I can just chat with them and we can make each other's day a little better.

Then that's all I can ask for. But at the same time, I do also want to grow. I want to increase my outreach. And I want to, you know, grow the community. And because I've seen how people in my community are there for each other. And I want there to be more people like that. I love it. I see a couple of people saying our scuffed streamer.

Can you elaborate on that? Oh, it just feels, I don't know, I feel like, I feel like for, I feel like most streamers can relate when I say that, oh, it wouldn't be a stream if there wasn't a little bit of scuffness to it. Like, it just feels like once every stream, something has to go wrong, you know? And not even like in terms of like technical issues, but even like, I don't know, just, just, yeah, it's never perfect. But I think that's the charm of streaming as well. It's so, it's not polished, it's relatable. It's real, you know? I like that.

I mean, literally, the beginning of the stream video immediately stopped working. Yes, yeah, exactly. We got to kind of, it was also there's some charm in that too to like learn how to fix it real quick and to fix it. And we're just kind of laughs. And I agree. It's realistic. Like, we're all human. We all make mistakes.

We're not going to be perfect all the time. So kind of. Exactly. It's janky. I like that word janky. Yes. Like, yeah, it just kind of works out like that. Yeah, I agree with tempo.

Yeah, very scuffed, very janky. Let's go. Where are my fellow scuffed streamers at? Wynne's full name is Winne scuffed Abyss Lord? I think that's a Genshin reference. Gotcha, gotcha. Speaking of Genshin, what was something that's like unexpected? Like something that you were not expecting at all once you became like a creator for them?

Oh, that's a really good question. like, um, I just, I think like really the, just the Ganshin Twitch community itself. I think that one of the things that I was afraid of when I first started streaming is, you know, you meet a lot of people. Uh, but that means, you know, it's like from both worlds, you meet a lot of good people and you meet a lot of bad people, right? Just because, you know, the, I guess the more exposure that you get. And especially on Twitch, I feel like it's such a mixed bag.

Like I've seen in other categories, other games, like there have been some pretty, pretty toxic comments and chat messages and, you know, a lot of moderation. But with Genshin, streaming Genshin, I feel like I haven't seen a lot of that, like, regardless of whether it's, yeah, in my channel or meeting other streamers. the experience has been pretty positive overall. People are pretty friendly, pretty understanding, and pretty welcoming. Everyone that I've met has always been so eager to help each other out. And I think it says a lot because not only is that uncommon, I think, in other games on Twitch, but also like Genshin Twitter and Genshin TikTok, I think are very, very, very, very toxic. I'm very scared to engage in the communities on those platforms and talk about Genshin.

because it just feels like people are like, yeah, at each other's throats for the smallest of things. Like I've seen so many artists get canceled over the most trivial issues. And even on Genshin TikTok, like people will just write the most ridiculous comments on content creators like posts. And it's just like, you can't be serious. There's no way you actually think that, right? And who knows, maybe they are trolls. But at the same time, it's just not. not something nice to see after a while as a content creator.

Like, it just, it does wear you down. So. Yeah, that's, that's, that's kind of, I was not expecting that. Like, I, I play multiple two games from like League or Valoran where toxicity can be at its all-time high. I didn't even realize that there's so much toxicity in Genshin, especially if you've already got your game like that. For sure. Yeah.

And you think, you know, you would think that, oh, I think it is actually better than, you know, like the games that you mentioned, like, League or Valorin, just because those are, like, competitive games and in Genshin um you know it's yeah it's not competitive it there's not really there isn't any PPP element um but you know I feel like with every community you do have you know your your good apples and your bad ones it's just like a facet of being human so you know sometimes you'll see I think the worst comments that I've seen are when people run giveaways you have like um just play that come in and they're so entitled and they're like oh like like why don't you just like I've

literally seeing people tell my friends like oh you're giving this away you're you're giving away like crystals to like pull for characters or whatever like like you know you're you're you're just doing it for followers why don't you why don't you just give me the crystals directly and it's like what literally where is the logic like like what what do we have to prove to you you know it's a it's a giveaway it's it's something that we're doing yeah maybe maybe people are doing it for like self-promo to you know boost their followers or um you know get get more outreach on like twitch or whatever but you know it's a valid marketing tactic and i do know there are people out there that do giveaways because they do know what it's like to not be able to get the character that you

want they you know when they were younger they didn't have money for games or uh entertainment and, you know, there are people that just that don't want to see that for other people. They want to make that a reality for, you know, those that are younger or people that don't have that same opportunity in life, you know. Exactly, exactly. I think kind of hit the nail on the head, like, especially for us, we do giveaways as well. But people always tend to, I see the same thing. It's like, oh, that person doesn't deserve it. I deserve it more.

Yeah. But that's the reason why we do random giveaways. one to bring awareness to yourself, gain some followers, but also like we have the ability to give away why shouldn't we? And I think now I kind of see, I can kind of

now visualize of like I can see how like that could get very toxic and how people can attack other people saying like hey, I deserve it more than you though even though in reality no one deserves it more than at all and it's just a fun game

that everyone wants to play and I can see how bad that could actually end up as. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. And then you also have, I don't know, I've also just seen people like, I think the thing that people shame, quote unquote, shame each other's over in Genshin, is like, because, you know, it's a free to play game, but there are people who invest a lot of time and money into their accounts. You have what we call like whales or dolphins.

And that's a term that we used to refer to like super, super big spenders. Like some people have spent like thousands of dollars, even tens of thousands of dollars in the game. And, you know, there are some people that are like, oh, like, you know, like, why would you spend so much money on a game and like shame them for being a whale? And then you have some people that are like, oh, like, you know, you're F2P, you're free to player. Like, you know, just like, just like, like, you don't actually like play the game the way it's supposed to be played. And just like stupid things like that. Like, I personally think that with other facets of life, like, just let people live the way they want to. There's no need to make someone feel bad for how they're playing the game or how much they're spending, how much time they're putting into their account.

Just, yeah, just just focus on yourself, you know. I like that. I like that advice. Yeah. And to kind of keep going on with Genshin, we'll have some of a couple of fun questions since, you know, we talked about kind of the breadth of it. But as personally from your side, like, who, what was something during the time that you became a creator to now that you want to see in the future? Like, it could be anything in general. It could be even something that's unrealistic.

What's something that you want to see added into the game or changed in the game in general? Yeah, there's definitely a lot. As much as I love Genshin, I think that there's definitely gaps in the game right now and that there's a lot of things that could be improved. I would like to see more like co-op functionality because there is, it is possible to play with your friends. And I know that at first glance, some people might think, oh, Genshin's kind of like an MMO RPG, but it doesn't have a lot of MMO elements at all.

Like I'd love to see, right now you can only have like, what, up to four players during your world at one time, but it'd be nice to have like, like, like, you know, a server where, yeah, you can, you can just see other players in real time. And right now the only end game content is, like, hey, you mentioned this before, like something called The Abyss. And it's basically just like an arena with floors of enemies. And you just try to clear the enemies as quickly as possible. And the lineup of the enemies changes every, like, few weeks. But it's really just the same thing over and over again.

It's really just a DPS check. It would be nice if you could do like raids with friends or like, you know, if you could have your own guilt. If there were more, yeah, just more social opportunities, more chances to play with friends. Because even some of the, like I think with friends, the most you can do is like, you know, you can farm materials. You can go exploring. But even some of the quests that you get when you're doing exploration like can only be completed in single players. So yeah, definitely more ways to. hang out with friends and get more done in the game together.

Yeah. I like that. And on the opposite side, what's something that you want to remove or get rid of in the game? Ooh. Let me think. I mean, I mean,

it would be nice if we could spend less money to get the characters that we want. Understandable. But, you know, I feel like even. with Genshin, they're like, because, so for Genshin and Ganshin, usually what, how they entice people to spend money is, some games will have what's known as a pity system. So every, the game will tell you, so like, let's say for Genshin, your chance of getting a five-star, that's the rarestress character slash weapon type you can get in the game. For a five-star character, your chance of pulling a five-star every wish, in any one wish,

like 0.6%. And, you know, people might think, oh, that's like pretty low, right? That's less than 1%. Less than a 1 in 100 chance that you're going to get that character. So how the game entices you to pull is it tells you that, oh, yeah, your chance of getting the 5 star in any 1 pull might be 0.6%. But if you pull up to, let's say, 75, on the 75th wish, you have a chance of pulling the 5 pulling a five star at like 50%, you know. Yeah, and the chance for that increases up until you hit what's known as the hard pity, which is at 90s. So every 90 pulls, you are guaranteed a five star.

So. Interesting. Interesting. So basically as you don't get the five star, the more you spend eventually get to the point where you basically have a better chance at becoming. I think Rainbow Six, I believe, something like that as well where every every time you open a pack but you don't get the rare or like the legendary item the chance increases by like half a percent and he keeps going until

it reaches that oh yeah so very interesting way honestly that's not a bad idea either because they could just make it just a flat point was a point six percent all the way yep yep yeah and some games some gotcha games actually don't have a pity so like you could spend like hundreds of dollars on the game and not get any, any five-star, any rare character. But that being said, I think, what's it called? I mean, like, I always think that, you know, a lower pity system is better for players. And also, just, so they have, like, Genschen has featured banners or limited runs. So basically what that means is, let's say, every two weeks, you have a character that you can

get for a limited time. And then you have to wait for that character to rerun before you can get them again. So for some of these, you know, like players have to like make budgeting decisions. They have to decide, oh, am I going to pull for this character that's out right now for the next two weeks? Or am I going to save for a character that's going to come out in the future? So I think that like one thing that I would remove, I wouldn't remove like the limna banner because I think that there is some novelty to having that change. but Genshin also has like eight was known as a standard pool. And so how the how this pity system works is I said that every 90 pulls, you are guaranteed a five-star character.

But there is something known as the 50-50 system. And so what that means is when you pull for a five-star, you have a 50% chance of getting the limited character. but you have a 50% chance of pulling a five star that's available all the time. So when people say, oh, I lost the 50-50, that usually means they didn't get the character they want. Interesting. Do you lose that 50-50 after or will continue until you hit? So it's more like when the 50-50 is like whenever you pull a five-star. And it's every other, it's like every other time.

So let's say for this, for this five, this, I pull a five star and it is, it is from the standard pool. So it is not the limited character. That means that my next five star is guaranteed to be the featured character. Yeah. So it's every other. So the, so the game does have like a guarantee, but it's like layers upon layers of like, of like, yeah, R&G. Gotcha, gotcha, interesting. Yeah.

Very interesting. Honestly, I understand. why they do it as a business they have to make money but yeah that's very interesting that they do that kind of system i guess it kind of still entices you it's like well you know now i've a better chance of doing it might as well yeah yeah and like sayin says yeah so if you don't get anything on a banner the next banner will continue to count so let's say like if i if i pull for a five star on on banner a and i don't get the character featured for that banner then thankfully the it does carry over. So if I pull for character B, then I'm guaranteed to get character B. But, you know, it still,

it still stings a little. Still hurts. I see, I see Jason says that you're very experienced with losing the 50-50. Yes, yeah. I feel like for for a lot of content creators, a lot of people that pull a lot. Yeah, I mean, it is a 50-50 after all. So. Yeah, I feel that. Same thing. Coinflips, I always tend to lose the coin flips no matter what, even though it's a 50-50 chance, tend to always lose it. and then and i know oh oh no i was just going to say gale gill gill zirri oh my gosh i'm so sorry i feel like i mispronased your use name hi i hate the fact that the weapon banner has his own pity they say yeah i didn't even go into how the weapon banner works there's a weapon banner pity too yes

there's different there's different um like banners for like the characters and then there's different banners for the weapons and yeah the weapon banner is a whole other has even more layers has another 50 50 on top of it i won't go into it because because I think it's very complicated, but I will say that weapon banner is a scam. And as someone who doesn't spend a lot of money in Genshin, I avoid that banner like the play. Gotcha. So I think that obviously is something to either not just like get rid of me. Maybe they can just tweak it a little bit, make it a little bit easier on the players.

So, you know, those that don't have to spend all that money can, you know, at least still try to do it. She's like she's a whale. No, they're capping. They're capping. I don't spend a lot of money in Genshin. Ooh, I don't know. If you were calling you out, I don't know. I do have one last question for Genshin, though,

before you start to move on to the next topics. I think I saw this on your 24-hour stream because I tuned in a little bit. I think you're doing a tier list for characters. Yes. So who was the number one spot? Oh, boy. Okay, Mike.

I feel like, hmm. So are you asking, wait, are you asking? my favorite characters or how about we'll do one for favorite and then one that you rate the best and then favorite like personal favorite and then what you consider

as the best how about we'll get two of us? Okay okay that's fair yeah because I was about to say that oh man that tier list was a it was five hours it did take five hours but also it was kind of a questionable I don't know if we can bring up what the deal was based

on in this in this podcast Oh, okay, gotcha. Okay, maybe that's a different type of tier list. Gotcha. Yeah, yeah. I will say, though, on Monday, so last Monday, we did do a tier list based on, like, we did a pride-themed cheer list. So it's more like, oh, like, which character, which Gensian characters do we think

fall on this part of the LGBTQIA plus, like, you know, I don't want to say spectrum because it's not spectrum, but, yeah, you know, so which characters do we think are, like, gay or a lesbian? or bi or like demisexual or ace slash aromantic or like hetero. That was really, really fun. That sounds like a really interesting one. Oh, I like that. Yeah.

But for, so in terms of like my favorite Genshin character, I would say my favorite character is Shao. I know that probably doesn't mean anything to you, Mike, because I think you don't play Genshin, but I don't know. He's just like, people will say that. he's like this emo moody boy but I think he's just misunderstood

this haircut interesting wow it's not it's not just about how he looks it's also about how he interacts with your character okay okay so

misunderstood and then for in terms of best character Ooh. I would say I do enjoy playing Hootower Gone You and I think those are you know

those two are some of the biggest damage dealers in the game but they're also like and people will say maybe that they're meta but I think they're like quite fun to play like I thought I would not enjoy playing them but you know those teams that have those characters do have

their highlights so honestly win I'm looking at right now. I understand. I understand. Okay, I'm glad. I'm glad. I'm glad. I understand why. I'm glad that you see that we're on the same page, Mike. For those that are listening, I'm showing pictures of chow by the way. Yeah, I understand. I understand why. I totally get it. Totally get it. They'll plunge people to death that we don't preference. Please go into that later, I think. thing.

Sure, sure. Yeah, we can discuss. So since we talked about your streaming and everything like that, what other games do you play on top of Genshin? Ooh, so, hmm. Yeah, Genshin definitely is the game that I spend the most time on. I think for me, Mike, and maybe like people in chat can relate with this, especially like others that are streamers. But I really use gaming as a social activity.

So even before I start streaming, I would mostly play games to hang out with friends. So I like to play a lot of co-op games. I remember back in the day, like in university, I'd play a lot of Lefordette 2 and Borderlands. And I would also like be into like Animal Crossing, especially like at the height of the pandemic. Nowadays, I think the single player game I like to play the most is actually Osu. Really? Yeah. Yeah. So for those who don't know,

Osu is a rhythm game, but I think like it really peaked in like the mid-2010s, but I only started playing it last year. And honestly, thank God for that because I feel like I would have failed out of school if I had discovered it earlier. Yeah. It's just, I don't know, it's just really, really fun.

And, you know, because it's a rhythm game, there are custom beat maps. So there's basically a map for like, like, like any song that you can think of. And if there isn't, then, you know, you can go ahead and make your own. Interesting. Do you have, like, I know, I've seen some people to have, like, a specific, like, they use, like, the pen and mouse pad. Do you just use your regular mouse for Osu?

Or do you have, like, a special setup for it? I actually do. I am a mouse, a KBM player, keyboard and mouse, which is definitely more difficult than using a tablet. Because, yeah, like, when you play with mouse, you have something that's called, like, mouse drift. So people that play Osu with me. mouse will know this like like you'll be moving around but because it's not um your movement is not like absolute so so like I'll find that as I'm moving my mouse around like it gets lower and lower and eventually like it'll start to like move off of my desk which can mess you up in the

middle of a map so oh yeah and I forgot to mention when I was younger yeah a lot of people in chat are pointing this out but I was really really into Sonic growing up so Really? Yeah. Was there a specific reason? I don't know. It's just like, I remember when I was like six or seven, my first console was the GameCube, and it's because my parents are like very, you know, they're like immigrants.

They didn't really have a lot of like free time early entertainment growing up. So they didn't know anything about video games. But I remember one time when I was young, my mom brought my sister and me to Toys R Us. and they had like the demo stations, right, with the console so you can go and like, you know, try out the different games. I remember we, my sister and I played Super Smash Bros. Mealy. And I think I was attracted to it because, you know, like it has like familiar characters. Like you have like the Pokemon. Like there was Pikachu and I was like, oh my gosh, like it's a Pokemon game.

It's not a Pokemon game. But I just had so much fun playing my sister. So then my mom bought us the GameCube. And then the next time I went back, I just chose a random game and it was Sonic Adventure 2 battle. I really don't know what it was about that game, but I just enjoyed playing it. So then, and that's when my fixation with Sonic started, I guess. So, yeah, yeah. Have you played, like, is it, like, an obsession of Sonic where it's like you play every game,

you have, like, Sonic plushies or stuff like that, or is it just you just enjoy the games? I think it definitely did become an obsession. Like, I remember back in the day, like, yeah, I wanted every Sonic game. Like, I think, like, back then Sonic was not as an, surprisingly not as mainstream as he is now, because now we have, like, the movie, and I think he's, like, getting a revival. And hopefully, you know, we'll get a new, um, decent 3D Sonic game soon. But yeah, definitely, like, I was, I was, yeah, very, very, very into Sonic.

Like, I would read a lot, like, look up Sonic fan art and like, and, like, read Sonic fan fiction. And I can't believe I'm about to say it. I'm only saying this because it's not my stream, but I'm, I remember there was even a time on Twitter.com, the stupid bird app where I would like role plays a sonic character with like other people. So yeah. You used to role play as Sonic character. Would you role play as Sonic or would you role play as like tails? No.

So for me it was like and I know what some people, when people think of role playing, they probably think of like like nausea for work like 18 plus stuff. But I promise, it was all innocent. It was really all innocent. For me, I role played as Blaze the Cat. Yeah. Blaze is kind of a, I don't know if people know Blaze as much because she hasn't appeared recently. And like the games that she's featured in have been a little more obscure, I think. But she's like really, really, really cool.

She's kind of like, people say she's kind of like a female Sonic. But yeah. I see. I'm showing some pictures on stream right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She's super cool, guys. I can see it. I can see it.

Yeah. I love that. So did you, did you, is it like a, like a profile that you would just like tweet out of? Or would you like interact with people in a community? Yeah, yeah. So there were like different. I remember like, um, getting to meet people that role played as other characters. So like, you know, you had like, there are so many people that role played as Sonic.

So we had this running joke where it was like, oh, like, you know, Twitter is like the center of the multiverse. And all these, so all these different personalities can exist of the same character. And then like, yeah, they're like, you know, people that. played as like the more popular characters like tails uh eggman shadow we even had like um yeah some more obscure characters like cream and rouge and like oh i remember one person was really really into mighty the armadillo and i know some people like probably don't know who that is uh they're very very very very obscure sonic character but yeah we basically had it grew to the point where there was like an account for any character you could think of and there were even like some like i guess like crack accounts too

or just like characters that you wouldn't think could be role playable as or like that people don't really think of like let's see what was the most I think the craziest the craziest account that I came across was like the time monster from Sonic Generations which is not really like a sentient being but yeah there was and that account would tweet just the most ridiculous stuff it was yeah it was a good time it was a really really good time and I even though, you know, it sounds like pretty, I guess like not, I don't want to say stupid because I don't think it was stupid. It was ridiculous and it's very, very niche. But I don't want to invalidate anyone else that has similar interests or similar hobbies. But for me, it was, yeah,

it was a really, really fun time in my life. And I got to meet so many other people because of it and make a lot of online friends, even friends that, you know, I kind of stay in touch with today. so yeah yeah so I look back on that time of my life only yeah yeah no like Sen just said enjoy what you enjoy if you're having a good time and having like a blast

doing it keep doing it like don't feel ashamed of that so heck yeah continue with that I mean I remember when I used to do like the if you remember Club Penguin I used to do club penguin music videos like that would be my thing

yeah that was my thing I spent hours going through like all the things changing outfits finding different locations i did all that stuff i think one of them got really popular i got like 10 15 000 views for someone that was in like third grade that was huge especially during the early ages of youtube yeah i think it was um okay i cannot remember i'll try to find it the the account's still available i believe yeah oh my gosh mike i would love if you could post a link because i would love to see that oh yeah yeah I forgot to mention chat that one of the things that I was also fixated on for Sonic and just in general is like anime music videos, game music videos. People call them fan cams nowadays.

No, no, no, no, no. It's not the same. Here it is. Okay. So I have, oh God, this is awful. Okay. So this is all in Windows Movie Maker, by the way. Oh my God.

So, you know, free Windows Movie Maker. Um, the most poverty one got 16,000 views in 2009. So this was 13 years ago. It was how to make- Are we gonna watch it on stream? Are we gonna watch it on stream? Oh god, I don't even know if I want to show it on stream, y'all. I'm just gonna send the league.

You guys can watch it. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, so I'll show what it was, which was how to make a bed. It, oh yeah, look at that. It has the unregistered hypercan thing. So it was the free version. Oh my god. And then here it is. So you turn the beds around.

You got the two couches, had some igloos for pillows, and then there you go. And you can add anything to make you comfy. And then there's your bed. This got 16,000 V. I'm saying. Oh my editing. Hey, don't, my editing has gone better since then. You guys got to give you some credit. I'm sure, I'm sure. But that's so, that's so amazing because, I mean, you know, know back in the day yeah it looks like you know you were into video editing and producing and now you're doing something similar for nz-d as part of your real-life day job you know i will do one before we move on to the next portion i do want to show the music video did not get as much popularity but

this was me halfway i can't play the music because it's muted but look at look at all this Look at all these transitions Look at all those Look at all those transitions Oh my God I can't even read what that is Oh my god Oh my god

Oh my god The new blue FX watermark Oh my gosh I didn't have money back then So I was gonna like What's the free thing And it's just this big new This big watermark just on the middle

of the video Oh my God The struggle was real. Struggle was real. And it was called Blizzard Blast TV because, one, TV was, like, popular for like, anything you did was TV for some reason. My friend's name was Blizzard something. And mine was like Something Blast. So we combined those two because they had Bs.

So it was Blizzard Blast TV. I love it. I love it. That's amazing. That was a time. So I feel, I feel you on this stuff. stuff stuff. I don't even get to this point. I don't even remember. Oh, man. Something about Sonic and that's what it was. Yeah, I don't remember. That's what it was. Oh, that's what it was. It was,

it was Mario Blast, was my old club penguin name because Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games was the thing. And I always play as Mario. My sister played a Sonic. So I chose Mario blast. I literally, I think that's how it connected because it's Sonic and Mario. And that's how I got. the name from it. That's amazing. Isn't they a weird, strange events? I don't know why I showed you guys this.

Oh, I'm glad that we were able to witness that witness the beauty. Aconcistry. Yeah. All right. So we, so we kind of gone into some introduction. We had some fun with stuff.

So we do want to, I do want to go into our segment of the actual pride cast, since this is, you know, the actual pride cast of all this stuff. Yeah. We want to talk a little bit about educational stuff for, um,

those into LGBTQ community. and you particularly being bisexual, correct? Yes, yeah, you got it. Perfect. So to kind of go into some of these questions, I do want to ask, like, how did you first discover your bisexual identity? Ooh, that is a story.

That is a story. Yeah, I would love to be able to share with you all. So it's pretty interesting, like, because growing up, I had no doubt. I always thought I was straight chat. I always, like, never had a doubt that, oh, I'm attracted to men. Like, you know, I feel like I was that girl in high school that, oh, hi, Mr. Matley, welcome, welcome. Welcome everyone in chat.

Hello. But yeah, I always thought that, yeah, I was attracted. Or I knew that I was attracted to men. I always thought in high school, like, oh, you know, like being a relationship would be nice because, like, you know, you're with, you can go through life with someone and you can share, you have someone there for you and you can share all your moments good and bad with them, right? obviously that's not like that that has its own that mindset has its own pros and cons but yeah so i never doubted that i was attracted to men and that i i could form an attraction to to people of the opposite

gender from mine um and i don't know i always thought that oh like you know would i be interested in in another girl or another another woman um someone that has the same gender as me and i and i thought um You know, I would be open to trying it, but because I never had a chance, I can't say for sure whether I would like it or not, right? So I always thought that, oh, like, I'm straight, but I'm like, I guess the word is like, bicarious. That's a term that some people use. But, yeah, so that's what I always thought. And then in my final year of university, as most stories tend to go, I met a girl. and we were in a music group together.

So, you know, we, it was an extracurricular thing. So we would sing together and hang out after rehearsals. And, you know, I even taught her, like, beatboxing and stuff. You taught beatboxing. That's okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, I always thought she was intriguing because she, like, kept to herself. But she's also, like, very considerate to others.

She would, she's the type of person where, like, she, she's like she doesn't really put herself out there but she would hang out she would she would see other people in the group that you know kind of like don't really feel like they belong or like kind of keep to themselves as well and she would go up to them and like make them feel included and stuff so yeah and then like after you know several months of singing we just kept like hanging out more and more and um it was it was to the point where like we were spending all of our free time together and and like always talking. We're talking like every day on like Facebook Messenger and stuff. And, you know, we were seeing each other a lot too because we were both, yeah, students at the same, on the same campus. And like there was like, I think for me, like I had, I was, I was graduating. So I was basically like done with school. And I just remember like, yeah, I wanted to spend like all my free time with her, which was, I'm not going to lie.

It was kind of problematic because I had a boyfriend at the time. And, yeah, and, you know, I always thought that with this boyfriend, like, we were pretty serious. I always thought that, you know, like, we had been together for like three years at that point. And I always thought that, you know, like, I want to get married to this person and stuff. But then the more that the more that I hung out with this girl, like, I didn't, I didn't realize what was happening. I know that sounds like an excuse, but I really thought that, oh, you know, like maybe this is. This is just how it feels like to have like a close female friend because I've never really had the chance growing up to have close friends.

Because like in high school, my parents were very, very overprotective. And all my friends live far away. Like my high school was kind of far away. So yeah, I just felt very, very alone. So I just thought, you know, maybe this is like normal. Maybe I just really, really like her as a best friend. you know, like maybe there's nothing more to it. And I remember, I guess, thinking like, oh, but like, I don't know, like, you know,

these feelings are like really intense, I guess. And then I spoke a little more with some girls that I knew were like, you know, identified as LGBTQIA plus. And the more that I thought about. And, you know, I started looking stuff up to. And I guess like just thinking, about it. The distinction for me was, oh, like, I really, really, really like this girl. And I want to make her, you know, the number one priority in my life. And, you know, I see things that make her

happy and I want those things to continue to make her happy. And I see things that make her feel like sad. And I want to protect her from those things. And, and at this point, I was still thinking, you know, maybe, maybe this is what, how friends feel like about each other. Because, you know, you do want the best for your friends too, right? But then I thought I, yeah, I thought about it. And then I thought, oh, can I see her as like, as like a sister? Or like, can I, can I, can I just see her platonically? And then, and then I realized like, no, like, I actually, I don't think I can. And like, I do wonder what it's like to like, you know, to like kiss her and stuff. And, and, yeah, so that's, that's, yeah, that's what happened. That's, that was how I realize that wow I can

indeed be romantically and physically attracted to the same gender as mine in that way and so that's how that's when I started to label myself as a bisexual year literally sounds like a movie like a like a K-drama movie

I love it yeah the plot the plot I love it like this this could be sold as a movie right here and I love that oh my gosh no way yes did you guys did you guys ever date or anything like that after or was it more like a Yeah, so what ended up happening was

you know, I had to make like a really tough decision because obviously I was not going to string my boyfriend along when I realized that oh, I do, I have developed feelings for another person and I just remember telling him and like leading up to telling him like it was really tough. I still think that tell it not telling him, but choosing to separate with him was like the toughest decision I've ever had to make so far. Just because like I did really care about him as well and I also did really love him too. And I knew that breaking up with him would, it would hurt him a lot, you know.

But at the same time, thinking about it, I realized that, oh, you know, it's not just about like this other girl and whether she returns my feeling. things are not right. Because like back then I had no idea if she was even into girls. It was more, it was more so that I realized that, um, regardless of how things ended with me and this girl, um, I wanted to explore fully like what a queer experience would be like, I guess. I wanted to see what it would be like to be in a same sex relationship and to, and to pursue someone that is the same gender as me. Because back then, um, you know, I had, yeah, I had, yeah, I had always just dated men. But she says your boy could have been into it.

I dated a bisexual for a while. Yeah, I don't know. I don't think he would have. I think one of the options that we discussed, like he was open to like, you know, trying things with me trying things physically, but not, oh, is it? No, it's okay.

Okay, okay. But, but I don't think he would have been down to, open our relationship, like emotionally. So, yeah. And so that's, that was why I think, yeah, we, I came to the decision that

we should, we should separate. So yeah. Gotcha, gotcha. I do want to go into a little bit about kind of like bisexual as in general. Your screen is

Rose. Let me see if I can fix that real quick. But I do want to say a lot of people, oh yeah, sorry, I'll fix that real quick, guys. But there is one thing that I want to kind of explain, which is like about bisexual in general. And kind of like,

a lot of people think that you like men and women equally. But we know that's not exactly true. Can you go a little bit more into that? Yeah, of course. of course. I think for, like, you know, it's just like in life, things are like constantly changing, you know, your life circumstances, your views, even your personality can change, right? And I think, like, for bisexuality is just another thing that changes. Like, you know, when I first realized that I could form a romantic connection with the same gender, I was definitely more attracted to women. It was like, sorry, boys, your time has passed. But, you know, recently I've been feeling more attracted to like, yeah, to the opposite gender again.

And maybe it's because, you know, with streaming, spending a lot of time and spaces for gaming and streaming, and there are just more men that are visible in those spaces. Like, you know, maybe it's an exposure thing. Like, I'm not sure. But what I do know is that that doesn't invalidate any of my previous feelings or any of my previous relationships. So, yeah, it's just something that's, that's fluid. just like with other parts in life. I am sorry, guys. I am having technical issues as per usual.

That is my bad. But let me see if I can try to fix it up real quick. But take your time, Mike. Take your time. Thank you. That is one thing I do want to kind of go into as well is like, what is one thing that you wish that people would understand a little bit more about bisexuality? Like, does it come in waves?

Is there anything that you can fix? Like, I don't know if there's a specific way to explain. how it feels to be bisexual. It just, I don't know, it just, it doesn't feel any different to be honest. Like when I think I remember when I first, it was, it just felt like, yeah, when I first realized I was bisexual instead of straight, it just felt like a whole new world had opened up to me that and I wanted to explore that world. Like, obviously it's not, it hasn't been all like good. because being bisexual has its own issues as well. Like bisexual people, like, I feel like there are struggles that bisexuals face in the community.

That other, I guess, like, orientations don't face. Like, bioreasure and biphobia are really real issues, and bisexuals deal with them every single day. You know, like, what I mean by that is, you know, you hear so many comments from, like, straight people that say, oh, like, you know, like, this is something that I've seen, like, oh, I would never date a bi man. And it's just like, you know, like, why? Like, why does it matter?

And then I've also seen, like, you know, a lot of gay guys say, oh, yeah, I could, I can never date a bi guy either because, like, you know, they're just, they're just confused. They're just, they're actually gay, but they just, they just, they just. don't know it. And then likewise, some lesbians I've heard them say, yeah, I could never be with a bisexual woman or I could never date a woman that's been with a man before.

You know? And it's just like, yeah, it's like, why? Why does it? Why doesn't matter? You know? Like, just because bisexuals are into multiple genders, that doesn't, like,

that doesn't mean that because I think a lot of misconceptions that people have about being bisexual is like oh, you know, bi people are likely to cheat or they're like hypersexual

or they're more promiscuous or you know they're more into open relationships or just stuff like that and it's not true I think that maybe because of how heteronormative society is maybe that's why bisexual people have their realizations, like, later in life or, you know, why we get into, like, quote-unquote, straight relationships and then realize, I really don't know.

I can't speak for all bi people, but, yeah, there are definitely issues that only bi people face. Gotcha, gotcha. And how is your understanding of bisexual shifted ever since you kind of realized it? Like how, what's kind of, you kind of go, oh, this was false or this was, oh, this is kind of a little bit more true now. Ooh, that's a good question, Mike.

I feel like for me, it's more like, I mean, I didn't really know what to expect when I first, when I first realized that I was by. I still consider myself like a baby bye. some facets because it feels like, yeah, it's only been a couple years since I realized this part of myself. But I think one thing that's changed is,

or that I know more about now is, you know, the difference between being bisexual and being pansexual. I feel like there's a lot of confusion around that, around the difference between the two orientations, because, you know, they do mean something very, very similar. And I feel like, people have this misconception that, oh, you know, just because you use the label bisexual, you're transphobic because you don't acknowledge that, you know, like, transgender, you know,

gender is like a spectrum instead of just binary. But I feel like it's more that for bi people or like, sorry, for pan people, I feel like those that identify as pan do so because gender does not matter to them, you know, whereas for by people, I feel like gender does play a bigger role in the attraction that you experience. And for me, I feel comfortable labeling myself as bi because, you know, back in the day, I was, I was so confident about being, being straight about being attracted to the opposite gender. And but now I know for a fact that I am also attracted to the same gender and that's why I feel

comfortable using that bisexual label. Oh, that's great. Have you came out to your parents about this? Like, do they know about this and everything like that? Ooh, they do not. They do not. Is there a reason for it? Are you uncomfortable?

Do you not know how they'll react? Because I know there are many people out there that are in the same position that they don't exactly know how they'll react or their parents or families or friends will react. Yeah, I definitely don't know what my parents would say. I feel like it's tough because I know that my mom is super, super religious, actually. She's very Catholic. But I've never heard my parents say anything against LGBTIQA plus people.

But then at the same time, I don't know, because a couple of months ago, I was living with a female friend just to help her out because she was living on her own. And so I was going back and forth from my parents' place to her place a lot. And I remember one time my mom said, oh, like, there better not be anything going on between you two. And I was like, what is that supposed to mean? So, like, I really, yeah, I really don't know. I just feel like my relationship with my parents is a little bit more complicated, as it typically is with most traditional Asian parents back in high school.

school. I remember my parents would tell me stuff like, oh, you know, like, you're not allowed to date. Like, not even, not even after college. They're like, you're not allowed to date until after law school. And, yeah, and, you know, you, I remember one time my dad saw me hugging a guy and, and he was like, like, I got this huge lecture in the car after. He was like, you know, my, we didn't come here for you and your sister to, like, mess around and, um, and be like this. And yeah, it was just like, I don't know. So I, and now that I'm like in my late 20s and my mom's like, oh, you got to get married before you're 30. And it's like, and it's like, you know, you can't just flip a switch like that, you know. Exactly.

You have to work up to gradually. And so I just don't feel inclined to tell them anything about my relationships anymore. So it's, so I feel like there are many people out there that are kind of in that position. Do you have any tips, not necessarily for coming out, but to be more comfortable about your. sexuality and everything like that. Do you have any tips on how you kind of came into that? Oh, that's a good question, Mike. I feel like for myself, like, yeah, I made sure to surround myself with a really strong support network. So I knew that, I knew that there were people that I could go to, both, like, within and outside of, like, the LGBT.

K-QIA-plus community. So I had friends that, again, as I mentioned before, I had female friends that identified as LGBTQIA-plus. I knew that I could go to my sister and my younger cousins because, you know, I knew that I could trust them because we've shared secrets before. And yeah, it was just, it's really nice to be able to know that there's a person out there that you can tell the secret to and they will keep it for you. Yeah, and I just feel like for myself, I'm a very social person. So I always, I feel like the people that are close to me know me better than I know myself. And I really, really, like, rely on that.

And also, I think for me, what made it easier was just looking at a lot of LGBTQIA plus media. And not just like any media in general, but media that I could relate to. And I know, you know, nowadays people might say, oh, like, representation is, like, is that, you know, it's, it's so, it's so pandering. But representation really does matter. I'm not going to lie, chat, when I first realized that I was by, I looked up a lot of media of, like, Asian girls like kissing. You know, it just, it just made me feel like, it just made me feel like it was more okay to feel those things. and it was more normalized. And it, yeah, I just, it felt nice to be able to see that

and know that it, there are other people out there in the world who are, that are like me that are into these things, you know? And to kind of go along with that, how can we, those outside of, you know, the bisexual community specifically, oh, is there anything that we can do to become better allies to, you know, make people more comfortable or anything that we can do specifically that would kind of help along, not just like

just making you comfortable, also the narrative of helping others in this particular position. I'm glad you asked them, like, yeah. I feel like it's like, you know, it's tricky because when you're, when you don't, I guess like when you're not the one affected, it's like, hard to know what to do sometimes. So I feel like the best thing.

And like even, even for myself with like other members of the LGBTQA plus community or like other, let's say like visible minorities, like if I'm not the one who is like experiencing the struggle directly, I think what you could always do that's helpful is to uplift the voices of those who do identify as that and those who do who have experienced the you know the struggle directly um because even even for myself like I can't say that I represent all bisexual people or all of the LGBTQI plus community you know and I would never never want that because everyone has such different experiences

and opinions and perspectives right um so I feel like yeah as as allies um uplifting those voices encouraging people to speak up. And when you see something wrong, even just speaking up for that and correcting, I guess, like, what you think is wrong because I feel like the most change would come from, you know, allies, straight allies, because straight allies are the majority in the world.

And I feel like when people see something that they don't understand, the easiest way to not convince them, but they're likelyer to listen to someone who is on their side, you know, that they can relate to more directly. So, yeah. Sorry, y'all. So we're going to do kind of a scuffed version of this. It works. Yay. So basically, sorry to kind of be like a little like on and off. I was just trying to fix this video.

But it doesn't work. This will work, I think, right? Yeah. Yeah. Mike solved the problem. Hello again, everyone. And so also, I also wanted to kind of go into the aspects of kind of those that are opposed to those in the LGBT community.

There are a lot of people to say like, why do we have a Pride month? Why do you need a whole month? Why not one day? Would you want to give us a little insight onto why you feel like that? Oh, yeah, that's a really, really good question, Mike. I've never considered, I guess, like, the difference between, like, a month versus a day. But what I can say is, like, I've thought about it. And, you know, I think it goes back to where Pride started from.

Like, I believe that's called Pride because it's a celebration of everything that the LGBTQI plus community has endured. I feel like people easily forget that same-sex marriage has only been legally recognized, like, what, in the last 20 years or so? That's, like, same-sex marriage is younger than me than most of us in chat, I feel like. And, you know, that's not even, it's still not accepted globally. Like, I remember traveling to Asia a couple years ago, like to South Korea and Japan with my girlfriend at the time.

And I remember being there and thinking, you know, there's no way we'd be able to get married here. And if we conduct any form of PDA, people are going to stare and it's like it's going to be in the bad way, right? Well, you know, the thing is when it's not happening to you, it's difficult to see, right? Like it's so easy to forget and just think, oh, you know, LGBTQA plus people get so much recognition. You know, like we have a whole month dedicated to us for pride. and whenever someone publicly announces that, you know, they're gay or they're trans or, you know, they come out publicly, you know, we congratulate them and we tell them that, you know, they're brave and that, you know, they're loved regardless of who they love. But I think it's because it's been so tough and it's still difficult for some people to admit and to live with that I think pride is still, it's still like necessary. Like, you know, some people make comments like, oh, you know, why isn't there a straight pride?

And, you know, if you all want a street pride, then, you know, you can have it. Because I think that I said I can't speak for all LGBTQA plus people. But I think I speak for the majority when I say that if there is a choice between having a Pride Month and being able to love whomever you want without any consequence, without, you know, being questioned or prosecuted, then I think I know what we would all choose. And it wouldn't be the Pride Month. Yes. Wholeheartedly. Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. Okay, let's see. Let's see. Oh, yes, one of the, I guess we're going to kind of, stuck to kind of wrap up, but we do want to say, is there any, like, content creators or companies, if you have any that are pro, like, LGBTQIA plus,

like that would be awesome. Like, do you have anyone that you want to shout out in particular? Oh, no. I actually couldn't think of an answer for this. question. Like, I'm just thinking off the top of my head. I mean, I will say, okay, this sounds really, what's the word? This sounds really, uh, like, like I'm kissing ass, but I would say NZXT is pretty good guys,

pretty good chat. Like, I'm not even joking. Like, being part of the NZXT, like, partner program, I really feel like we're doing something that not a lot of other companies are. and you know the fact that nzxte has been fundraising for the Trevor project and i know like you and i actually talked about this a little like you mentioned how all this pride month stuff is like nzc isn't like making any money off of it or anything like it's literally just to uplift like queer voices and highlight LGBTQA plus experiences um and even with this podcast like i'm really grateful to be able to

be a part of it i remember when when nzxt social social media posted my headshot. One of the comments was like, oh, watch them not talk to you at the end of the month. And I'm like, what? Like, we have been having conversations, like, even before Pride Month. And I'm confident that we will continue to have conversations even after Pride Month. So, yeah. So, yeah, definitely, definitely keep and continue to keep an eye out on NCXT, y'all's.

Exactly. Like, I think that's one thing that we wanted to try to do is that it ain't just a profile pick and I just go hey there's your post at June and about July 1st all right bye don't care anymore and like a lot of people here are LGBTQ but a lot of them are here and a lot of us support those that are and I think that we have to just do more than just the post and things so this is why June is one of our busiest times honestly for those that don't realize that all proceeds that we've made go to charity and Pete there are a lot of comments about like oh they take the money and they write a tax we don't tiltify does not do that tiltify

immediately sends the money over to the charity so we physically don't see we actually end up losing and I say this all over and over we end up losing more money followers sales a lot of it during June because we are supporting the pride community and a lot of people you know there are those that are against it. And we end up losing a lot of stuff off this. So this is literally done for this community. There's an amazing community that I've known for so long and have friends and family that are part of it.

This is something that we want to make sure that everyone, this becomes less of a month than it becomes the norm. And that's the goal is that in the end, the end is to make it more of a norm. If we can get to that, I'll do as many podcasts as possible. I'll do it. I'll do as many post-fundraisers. I'll do it. We'll do it.

And yeah, exactly. It's kind of ridiculous that people won't buy from a company because they support it. And it's interesting. And a lot of people think that because we're a company, we can't do it. Or we shouldn't do it. And we should say silent. But there are people in our company that are part of this community. And I think that's what we want to make sure that everyone does.

Yeah. Yeah, Mini-Meekado says, it's okay, NZT don't need hitter money. As the kids would say, sorry, true, besty. Very, very, very true. Like, they can, they don't have to support us, that's fine. I don't want you in the community anyways. And I'll continue to what we call clapping back on Twitter if you are against it. I don't want you in the community here.

If you don't want to be a part of it, don't be a part of it. Just leave. I don't want to see you here. Yeah. Yeah. And to kind of do a little bit more of an uplifting version, we're going to do a quick little rapid fire question. We're going to go through these.

You can answer them as much as you want, whatever you want to say. We're just going to go through a couple of these. So I know you did say that you did own a Game Q as a first console, correct? What was your first game? Super Smash Bros. Mealy. Oh, right, right. You said Mayleaders. I don't think it's Sonic for some reason.

What was your favorite game of all time? Is it still Sonic? No, actually, it's not. It's Breath of the Wild. Brother the Wild is the only Zelda game I've ever played chat. And it's, yeah, it's my top. It's up there. It's up there.

That's how good of a game it is. Yeah. What was your favorite part about it? Is it like the puzzles and everything? Or is it just the open world aspect? Just, it's just such a surreal experience. Like, I feel like with Sonic, Sonic always inspired this, like,

sense of adventure within me, you know, because he's so carefree. and he's always like, yeah, running around and like, yeah, going to find adventure and stuff. But the stages always felt like so close. Like you can't actually go anywhere. But in Breath of the Wild, I could be standing at the top of a mountain. And I see like something interesting in this and it's like, I can just fly there. You know, I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want.

And it's just, yeah, it's so beautiful. It's so atmospheric. I'm so scared to play it again because I feel like the second time just won't have the same magic as the first time, you know? Very true. Very true. And kind of going along with more games, what is a game that you would wish had a remake, either just updated graphics or like completely changing the game? Ooh, uh, Sonic Kiro's, I think.

Another good classic. Would you want to do like just updated graphics or would you want to change the game in general? Ooh, I mean, if they did a reboot or a complete remake, I think that would be super, super cool. Like if they added new, I know one of the original complaints about the game, was that the stages were very repetitive because it's like you're doing the same stage four times basically as a different team. But the mechanics are basically the same. So if they made like different stages for different teams, I think that would be super, super cool. Interesting.

Okay. I like that. Oh, do you watch anime? Yes, I do. I've actually been watching a lot of anime recently. So the two questions. What are you watching recently? So I've been watching Samurai Shampu, and I'm going to be, I think I'm going to be

binging Spy Family this weekend, now that all the season one episodes are done. I've heard a lot of good things about that show. Wait, what was the second question? The second question is, what is your favorite of all time? Oh, that's really tough. I would say soul eater has a special place in my heart. Soul eater. That's what you were the first time I heard that as a lot of the first time.

that as like a top like two or three anime. Like people say that they like it, but I never seen people to go like, like, this is the best. Interesting. What do you like about it? I think I really like the two main characters. I really like Sol and Maka chat. They're just so cool. I like it.

I like it. Oh yeah. By the way, Spy family? Fantastic. Amazing. Great. Noted. Noted.

Looking forward to it. What hobbies do you have outside just gaming? That's a good question. I really like, I mean, I feel like, I feel like it all comes back to gaming in some way. I really like, yeah, like reading and writing. Mostly like, yeah, reading fan fiction. I really, I actually really like browsing for fan art. To me, it's really important that people get credit for what they do.

And like, you know, I'm, as I mentioned before on stream, I feel like I'm someone that's not creative person. Like, I'm really bad at like, yeah, visual artwork. can't draw or paint or anything. So I really respect those that can. And I feel like nowadays on the internet, it's so easy to like, you know, commit art thievery and, you know, like take pictures and not give credit to whomever actually, you know,

should get credited for them. So, yeah, when I share, I share a lot of fan art with my friends. I always like tell them, oh, you know, like, provide the sauce. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and I would say also like off, like off the computer. I enjoy hanging out with my cat Char Char. Do you have the cat around right now?

Is Char Charter around? No, no. He's probably downstairs hanging out. Like, he's probably, actually, he likes to go outside, but I think it's a little too hot to be in the backyard right now. Gotcha, gotcha. What is one place you'd love to visit? Oh, I really want to.

I know I mentioned that I went to South Korea and Japan already, but I would love to go back to either one again. I feel like I was there in. in both places for a week each and it really feels like I barely scratch the surface. I feel like there's just like so more so much more that I want to see. So, yeah. I love that. I need to go back to Korea.

Oh, actually go to Korea. My parents are from Korea. Yeah. I was born here. So like I have to go back. I have to at least see like where they came from and everything. I heard. It's beautiful.

Are you from Seoul or? They were near it. They're like a city near it. I can't remember exactly where But it was it was like within like a driving distance basically Yeah, yeah Oh Mr. Matley asked Osaka or Tokyo I went to Tokyo

But I really want to go see Osaka as well So yeah Ooh that's a good that's a good question That's a really good question I know everyone says Tokyo but I know of Osaka being probably one I think it was like the top eight or something like that Because I looked up like top 10

Place it to go to and Osaka was one of the top 10 Really? Let's see. What is something that you wish you were good at or better at? Ooh, that's tough because I feel like there's so many things. We had one that you can basically be a master at. What would it be? A master at?

Maybe at negotiation. I feel like, yeah, because I feel like I've always wanted to get better at public speaking. And I think that streaming has definitely helped with that. But I feel like when I'm in a position where I'm like, because I'm like, I feel like as with most people, I'm conflict-averse. And I don't like confrontation, especially. And I find it hard to advocate for myself. I feel like that is something that, you know, especially a lot of women might be able to relate to. Sometimes it's hard to like stand up for yourself and you don't even realize that, you know, you deserve better.

And I just feel a lot of pressure. Like, let's say, for example, even when I'm, you know, working full time and, like, I'm asked to, like, yeah, negotiate my salary, it just feels like a lot of pressure. And I feel scared to ask for more. But then it's like, you know, what's the worst thing that can happen, right? Like, what, they're not going to hire me? I probably wouldn't want to work for a place like that anyway, right? But it is, yeah, I just feel like negotiation is a really, really useful and handy technique to know.

and it's a good skill to have in all facets of your life. So, yeah. That's a very, that's a very smart thing. A lot of people would be doing something that, like, they do, like, you know, like gaming or I want to be better at guitar or something like that. I really like that. I may steal that answer. That's pretty, uh, when is bad at negotiation?

Mike, this means you can bring her in every podcast. A second. Kekoi. Bring us a good, you know what? Good, good idea. Good idea. We'll just bring her on every podcast. We're just going to hire her.

She's going to work for us. I would be honored. People shy. Let's see. Oh, you just did a 24-hour stream recently, correct? Yes, I did. Can you go a little bit into that real quick? Yeah, so for those who don't know, I did do a 24-hour capped charity stream on Monday.

So literally right as my NGXT feature began. So we raised money for the 519, which is a Toronto. Toronto-based community center and program provider that serves the LGBTQA plus community. I really wanted to do something local because I feel like, you know, Canada is a little short on attention. You know, it feels like a lot of programs and things online are meant for the states. And I really wanted to be able to support, you know, an organization that I can see having a direct impact in my community.

But yeah, so it was like a sub-a-thon style. Every dollar that was donated resulted in my community. stream timer being increased by a minute. And to also, you know, encourage, because, you know, NZXT also has their campaign for the Trevor Project. That's still currently ongoing. You guys can get some pretty nice rewards if you, I don't know if there's a command on the channel, but it's, it is, it is still ongoing. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Mike, for adding that in the chat. But yeah, and then to encourage people to also support the Trevor Project, because, you know, the Trevor Project also does a lot of good work. I, I, I, uh, tried it.

sweeten the deal by telling people, oh, if you send me a receipt of your donation to the Trevor Project, then I will increase the stream timer by like time and a half based on your dollar amount. And I will also match your contribution to my own campaign for the Toronto organization. So yeah. So yeah. So for the Trevor Project still ongoing. You could technically still, oh yeah, thank you for plugging that as well. I'm like, yeah, if you prefer to being in Canadian dollars for fellow Canadians. You can still contribute to the campaign as well. Yeah, and you'll have my deepest support.

But yeah, it was really, really fun. The 24-hour stream, you know, I always assumed the worst. So I was like, oh, like, you know, like, it's summer, and there's not a lot of people on Twitch anymore. People are out touching grass and living their lives as they should be. So what if no one comes or, like, no one donates? But, you know, we were able to raise over $2,000 Canadian, and we hit the 24-hour cap.

Yeah, yeah, it was it was definitely a tiring stream because I crash after like 21 hours of being up, but I don't even know how you even got up to 20 hours like that's that's a lot. How did you feel during that time? Like where you were you, was there a certain point where you're just like I could fall asleep for years or was it like I'm pretty okay and then it just the crash? So actually it's pretty funny that you mentioned that Mike because so like it was like my stream started at 8 p.m. the previous night. I had to start it a bit on the later side because I had guests coming, and they were only available in the evening time. So, like, I had been up from, like, 1 p.m. the previous day. So I think early in the morning, let's see, like, around, like, 7 a.m. or 8 a.m.

I was starting to feel it already. So I remember telling my chat, hey, you know, since there's not a lot of people that are actually here, I'm just going to, like, sleep in my chair for, like, 20 minutes. And then I just like got a blanket and just like, you know, like hunkered down and just like, yeah, slept. Yeah. Wow. And only 20 minutes and you continued after that? Yeah.

I think for me, like I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine. So just even just a little bit of coffee is enough to like keep me up. And also I think with streaming, because streaming is so, so engaging. Like I get super immersed in whatever is going on in the moment. And so, and you know, with streaming, you have the game to focus on, you have people to interact with. Usually that's like enough for me to forget that I'm tired. But I guess I was just like, yeah, really approaching my limit there. Someone says you may or may not have molded on the 20th hour.

What happens? On the 20th hour? What happened? I'm trying to remember. Oh, I think I was trying to do some stuff in Genshin. And I was playing, yeah, in the abyss. on a viewer's account because I do, I do, I try to clear it for regulars. And yeah, it's just sometimes I get very frustrated.

Like not at, not at other people, but at myself because I feel like there is a skill difference. And after a point, I got very impatient. So yeah, that was the molding. I do have a lot of molding streams, I suppose, for those who, who are interested in tuning in. So if you're interested in seeing people get angry, I think my content would be, would be right up your alley but

I always try to like I never get angry at my chat or at other people because I don't like being toxic to other people I mostly get frustrated with myself so Jump King's stream Oh yeah, yeah, grand time with Jump King Yes that was

the jump king was the goal or the reward for hitting our original $1,300 fundraiser goal. Thank you again to everyone that made this possible. So yeah, there will be a Jump King stream soon. And yeah, my limits will be pushed to the math. Look, you're going to need it. Oh, my God.

Thank you. Same thing. Like, I don't usually get mad, but I think Jump King was probably the only game where I, like, sland my desk. It was so frustrated because it was, um, I forgot what, it was like near the end. There was one part where if you, it's like this tiny little ledge and I literally missed it.

like I lost like 15, 20 minutes of progress and I was now I literally went like God no whoops good luck. Hi, best of luck. Thank you. Thank you Mike. Yeah, I'll definitely need it. Okay, you have two last questions. Sorry for keeping you on for a while.

No, of course. I'm really having fun and it's good to see that chat seems to be having fun too. Dorian says Wini seems like a cool person. Thank you, thank you. Thank you everyone for being here. Very true, everyone. Everyone here also should go follow her on her socials. I'll go ahead and post the link.

Oh, keep a shot. Thank you. I know. I should go follow her socials. The first question is, it's a little deep, but I always love asking this because it's always a fun time to ask is, are you happy? Ooh. I know you sent me the list of questions before the stream, Mike. And I saw this and I was like, wow, this is a really good one.

I still don't know how to answer. I feel like for myself, you know, like we only have the present moment. And I feel like I would never want to say that I'm unhappy. Like I feel like you can always dwell on, you know, parts of your life that could be better. Like, for example, I know that for myself, one of the things that I've been trying to do for a long, long time. That's really discouraging is trying to buy a house in this economy. It's really tough. I'm like, yeah, you know, I've been out of school for a while. I'm in my late 20s. It feels like, you know, that should be the next step in my life. But it's, I'm not going to lie, chat. It's really hard.

Like, you either have to be like in a relationship, like, you know, double income, no kids, or you need help from your parents. Or you just got to be really lucky and, and be born into generational wealth. So, you know, I'm currently living with my parents. And sometimes that's, Sometimes that's tricky because, you know, there's like, I feel like there's, like, a stigma still with, like, you know, living with family and not being able to, like, make it on your own. And also just because, like, they're my parents. So sometimes they enroach on my boundaries and, like, you know, you don't really have full privacy and stuff. But at the same time, it's like, you know, what do I really have to complain about? Like, you know, I have a strong support network.

I have, I have you guys. I have streaming. I at the end of every day I get to you know kick back and watch my enemy and play my games and you know play valourine with my friends yeah it's like pickiest or I'm so sorry about miss pronounce your name we have each other right and like when I when I really think about about it I have a really good life and I'm really lucky and privileged to be able to live this kind of life and so I would say that yes I am happy Yeah. Things could be, things could always be better. But if you always think and you get stuck on what you don't have, then you're going to miss out on all the things that you do have that are in front of you, right? So yeah. I like that. I like that a lot. I'm happy. Yeah. All right. And then for the final question, this is what we always ask all of our Pride ambassadors to basically leave off. This is like kind of your send off of the week. And actually, you are the last one. So you are. sending off the whole Pride month itself as our campaign kind of comes to a close. Do you have any words that you'd like to leave to anyone watching? And it could be anything you want, it could be motivational, it could be words of wisdom, it could be anything that you just want to say.

The floor is yours. Ooh, that's so much pressure knowing that I'm like the last one for, you know, Pride 2022. First of all, oh, it was so hard to prepare. something for this. I still don't really know what to say, but first of all, I do want to say, thank you, everyone. Thank you, Mike. Amanda, thank you to NDSC for this amazing opportunity. Thank you to everyone else who has stopped by today to listen to my experience and who has, you know, who who stayed till the end, who are really, really, yeah, listening and are interested.

I always say this in my streams, but yeah, there would be no podcast without you all and there every no Pridecast. So thank you for allowing us the Pride ambassadors for this year to have even more of an outlet to share our experiences and our voices. I felt a lot of, you know, anxiety and nervousness, not just with the Pridecast, but with this whole month in general, because this is actually the first time that I've been this out publicly, like both IRL and online. And,

you know, with, I think especially being bisexual, like people think that bisexuals have like, you know, less, I guess like, you know, they're not real parts of the LGBTQIA plus community because you know, they can, we can fake it or like, you know, we can just, we can be in a

in a hetero, I guess, like seeming relationship and you know, we're, we don't face the same oppression as other parts of the community does. And I think for me, I feel a lot of like imposter syndrome and stuff. So I don't consider myself an example by any means in the LGBTQA plus community. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I'm just, I'm just another human being like you guys, just someone playing games and having fun of friends

and just wanting to, yeah, live a life that I'm that I'm happy with and that I'm proud of. And I hope that, you know, I don't. feel, I get, I don't want to say I don't feel 100% comfortable with like, you know, being, being out there or like putting myself out there or like, you know, it's not like I'm going to go, go to the rooftops and shout that I'm like bisexual and everything. So I hope that you also feel for those who also identifies LGBTQIA plus for the, and even those who are like, just questioning, like your experience is totally valid. Even if you don't see someone who looks exactly like you, that you can 100% relate with, that's okay.

That doesn't mean that you are any less of a person or your feelings are any less valid. And I hope that everyone here can someday feel 100% comfortable with who they are and who they love because in the end, I feel like the world could all use, like the entire world could just use more love, you know? I love that Wow Sorry for taking up so much of your time No no no no All that stuff

This is awesome I think that is it on the Questions I guess we'll go ahead and do a couple announcements real quick Of course So the first one is This is the last day of pride

Everyone And we have a lovely Winnie here to celebrate us on our last day. So please, if you guys want, go ahead and donate. There's a couple prizes left. I think we saw some hats and hoodies available.

So if you guys want, go ahead and donate. Last day, just throw it in there, whatever you have, $1, $5, anything amount, throw it in there. All proceeds go to charity. We do not make any money. We do not like any taxes off of it or anything like that, tax write off.

All proceeds go. So go ahead. If you have anything, please go ahead and donate. We also just released some new capture cards, which is really interesting. So go ahead and take a look at that It's the signal 4K30 and HD60 So go ahead and take a look into those if you guys want to

There's also the cable as well Which if you have a console headset You can connect this cable to the signal And you can actually record anything that you hear Will be recorded on your video or on stream Which is awesome We also expanded our NZXT store Which is crazy I was not expecting us to

expand before it was just US and when we made Canada crazy then now we're Germany Australia and now we also have three new countries Spain New Zealand and the UK so go ahead if you live in any of those things you can also order anything for an N60 store or our BLD program which is the PC building setup and configurator you can also do you there um really weird giveaway that we are having some fun with

is we release new thermal paste and if you know NZXT our jokes around thermal paste are all parents so we have ammunition and Dr. Lupo as our thermal paste ambassadors one of the big two of the biggest streamers ever

and they are signing multiple tubes of toothpaste or toothpaste thermal paste and you can get it for free giveaway? Don't know. It's crazy. And I love it.

It's so weird, but I love it. So go ahead. Sign up. It's free. You just sign up for the gleam. And then you can win an autographed tube with thermal base from Dr. Lupo and ammunition. I actually love ammunition.

Like, she's, yeah. Really, I wish I had her FPS skills. Oh my gosh. She's insane. She's been laying Tarkov. And when she played R6 and everything, I'm just like looking at these like, I'm like, how do you, my, my wrists can't do, how do you aim? That's incredible.

And she's, I'm pretty sure she's also LGBTQA plus as well. Yeah, she is. Also female. Yes, she is. Like I said, NZXT, we're bringing everyone in, everyone for the community into this. Like everyone we know, we got many partners. This is just a start, guys. Yeah, excited to see how, how further, how much further.

NZXT can go with this. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. This is just the beginning. Like doing this, we went from just doing a fundraiser, and then we did one podcast with the fundraiser, and now this is like we're doing a fundraiser with multiples. It can only go up from here,

and we're going to get more people on, more things to do, more fundraising things to do. So this is just beginning. Next year is probably going to be even bigger. So keep an eye out for that. Maybe we'll bring you back on the podcast as well. the comeback as a returning podcast. I would love that.

I would be honored, yeah. And we also talked about bringing some more partners onto just regular pockets, not even just pride. So we love to have you back on the podcast. If everyone wants to see her on the podcast, please say something in the chats. That would be great. I'm so shy.

I'd be honored. Of course. No problem at all. So for those that are sticking around, thank you guys for sticking around for so much, by the way. There is, if you are a part of the giveaway, so X-O-M-H-M-A-S-O-M-E, there is a link that you can see. And one of the things that we're trying out now is a secret passcode.

And that will give you an extra 500 entries into the giveaway. So I will go ahead and type the code into chat. And for those that are listening, it is proud to Poochie, no space. Pucci P-U-C-C-I-E, or P-U-C-C-I, sorry. So P-R-O-U-D, P-U-C-C-I is the code. Proud-P-P-T-A-A-T-A-R-A-P-U-C-C-I is this code. Yeah, Poochie is this guy right here. And we wanted to see if we could tie-dye him,

but sadly because of his color, it's very hard to tie-dye a dark color like this. But soon we'll get one of these out. So go ahead, use that code. This is for you guys sticking out to watch the podcast and everything like that and supporting pride as well and to support Winnie for her podcast as well so I wanted to give you guys a little extra as the end of send-off thing.

And I think that is it. Do you have any last words you want to say before we send off the podcast? Not really. Just want to say again, thank you, Mike. Thank you, Amanda. Thank you, NXT. And thank you everyone who has been here

from the beginning, those who came in recently, those who are lurking, those who are lurking, those who are keeping the chat going. Really, really appreciate you all. Thank you all so, so, so, so much. Love it. Okay. So thank you guys.

Thank you all for joining us for our last pride cast of Pride Month. This was awesome. It was amazing having all these wonderful people on. Thank you to Winnie for joining us today. So everyone, please remember to tune in live every Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific Center time on the official NC60 Twitch. and don't forget to listen to previous episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Please leave us a positive review if you like what you hear.

And even if you didn't, just leave it. Why not? Got any questions for us? Send an email to podcast at nzxte.com. We do read the email. So anything, any suggestions you guys want to do, anything you guys wanted to bring on. If you want to bring Winnie back on, send an email out. And I think that is it.

I guess we'll go ahead and say goodbye. Bye.