Grace and Peace Blerd Fam! If you didn’t know, Twitch is the platform for everything gaming related and creativity. You can find some of the biggest names in the gaming community there. I wanted to create a spotlight for growing Twitch streamers that I know you will enjoy. 

Today, I want to introduce to you PawdaBlu! She’s a dope streamer and a great broadcaster. She plays a little bit of everything, The Sims 4, Genshin Impact, Cooking Companions, and more! I wanted to share her story with you. So “What’s Their Twitch?”, you can find PawdaBlu at http://www.twitch.tv/pawdablu. She streams on the weekends (because of school) Saturdays and Sundays from 12 pm to 3 am EST, with bonus streams during the weekdays starting at 6 pm to 9 pm EST. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at PawdaBlu. 

Round 1: 

Give us an introduction to who you are and the in and outs of your broadcast. Share with the class about your Twitch channel and your community. 

I’m PawdaBlu; I am your friendly Anxiety prone Blerd that loves video gaming and testing the waters of game genres that are unfamiliar. An amateur artist as well. I am also the Editor in Chief and journalist for RealOnesGaming where I post new gaming content of games I have played and reviewed, different gaming presentations, and display my budding artwork. My Twitch community is small, but I would like to say that we are dreamers. I call my channel the Blu Bar and my viewers and subscribers are my patrons. I personally don’t like the idea of “overly formal” and one of the most casual places I can think of is a bar. A bar is where you go to let loose and unwind, where you can tell your woes over a cold drink and be merry and harmonious together. This type of casual environment is very soothing to an introvert like me, where I can lose myself in the conversations and gaming and be the person that I know I am and want everyone to see. 

Twitch is all about games and creativity. What type of content do you stream on your Channel? 

At the BluBar I am not very consistent with a certain genre. I try to expand my horizons any chance I get while playing all-time favorites of mine; remastered or not. I tend to stay towards role-playing, simulator, and adventure games. One day I hope to try a platformer and get more into shooters. I also hope to be comfortable enough to do VR games on stream or perhaps draw. Drawing can sometimes feel very personal and my anxiety gets in the way of making it happen just now. 

What made you start this journey in streaming and when did you start?

I officially started streaming on October 22, 2018. At this time, I graduated from college in May and lost my campus job that very same day due to graduating. I was very bored and most times very lonely since I was the only one that did not have a job lined up after school. That’s when I started to go on Twitch more and met many different people who suggested I streamed. They told me that it could also be the “excuse I needed” to play games I would never think about playing before. I took the plunge into the streaming world because I wanted to do something that was out of my comfort zone while doing something I loved. During my time on Twitch as just a viewer, I have met a lot of people like me who had anxiety to the point that it cripples them from trying new things. I wanted to be proof that you could do anything that you can put your mind to. 

What are some of the issues and challenges that you’ve faced on Twitch and how did you overcome them? 

When I became an affiliate, I applied to join two different stream teams. One I never heard back from but the other took me in instantly. In this stream team was another streamer who tried to bring me down because of my nationality and due to me being more of an introvert than an extrovert; making me feel inferior. I am ashamed to say this but instead of putting my foot down, I left the team with no notice. Shockingly, a year after all of this I happened to run across the Team leader and we sat down and talked about what happened that long ago. He offered for me to come back and I declined, mostly because I knew what would happen if I came back; the bullying would have been worse. I learned from that day to stand up for what I believe in and more importantly for myself. My self-esteem was very low and so I was a cheerleader to everyone but myself. I don’t regret joining that team and I do not regret meeting anyone in the team for it made me who I am today. It gave me the realization I needed to stand up for myself. 

What are some of the resources and support that you use, that’s out there for creating a broadcast on Twitch? 

My broadcast resources are very bland now. I used to use StreamLabs Obs and just recently switched to OBS so I am still adjusting. The support I use is just from my friends at RealOnesGaming. I still call myself a “baby streamer” due to all the things I still don’t know and trying to figure out. 

Blerd is all things nerd and geek through a people of color culture lens. What makes you a Blerd? 

What makes me a Blerd is my love of reading, writing, anime, and of course gaming. Currently, in my possession, I have 14 manuscripts that I have been working on since the age of 8. I hope that after hard determination and character development I will be able to submit them to a publisher, or take the plunge myself in being self-published writing; I would even go as far as to say that it is because of my love of trivial knowledge and languages. I am currently working on Mandarin and wish to learn Cantonese, German, Russian, Hindi, and Spanish within this lifetime. I am working my way into the cosplay world as well and hope to show off some costumes in the near future, whether by my hand or someone else’s. My drawings are what makes me a Blerd as well. They are not what I envision them to be right now, but with time and practice, I will be able to share my visions the way I see them in my imagination. 

Round 2: 

You’ve only been given 3 games to play for the rest of your life, what are you playing and why? 

Three games that I would happily play for the rest of my life is The Sims, Genshin Impact, and Animal crossing. The Sims is a game I play to temporarily forget about the world and create one of my own. This game is also how I created some of the manuscripts I have to this day. Genshin Impact is fairly new, but it helps me conquer the fear I had about action-adventure games. It is also a Gacha game so I can get the excitement of obtaining new items and characters while doing quest and get deeper into the story that Mihoyo created who is a Chinese company that I have been following for the longest time. Animal Crossing would be my last choice because it is a calm game that I can play with my friends. The music is calming and there are tons to do by yourself or events you can play with your friends. With New Horizons, we have islands that we can decorate and build on to make safe spaces and hangout spots anywhere you want. You also can dress your character, do their hair, and decorate their house and so much more.

Which video game character is bae? 

For a male character, I would have to choose Eddie from Tekken. For a female character hands down is Beidou from Genshin Impact. 

What’s a game that you absolutely hate but everyone else might like? 

If I had to choose a game, I would have to say Resident Evil 4. I got it for a birthday present from one of my sister’s friends and was forced to play it out of ‘courtesy’. The horrible part is that everyone in my family knows I don’t like scary or jump scares, so they were sitting behind me watching with a bowl of popcorn. The worse part was that they gave me this game ON THE WII. So, I had to hold the stick like a gun because my parents refused to buy me a controller. Completely traumatized. 

Your favorite person is making your favorite dish, who is it and what is it? 

If we are talking about celebrities, then my favorite person would have to be Tom Hanks and he would be making oxtails with rice and peas. If we are talking about close to us, then I would have to say my boyfriend and fellow streamer Tom_a_chu.

If you could be any superhero who would it be and why? 

If I could be any superhero, I would choose Raven. I can relate to her family life in some ways and I would love to have the powers that she holds. She understands that her powers are what is called “dark magic” but its what you do with your powers is what makes you good or evil. She uses her powers to save people and protect the world she calls home. I would love to use the knowledge and power that I possess to help the people I love and the world I live in. My family ties are not the best and I think it’s where all my “darkness” (anxiety and mental health concerns) comes from and I want to evolve my struggles into something positive to be helpful. Or at least show someone that they can do it too. 

Round 3 Final Boss Battle: 

-Playstation or Xbox?

Playstation 

-Pepsi or Coke?

Pepsi 

-Night or day?

Night 

-Summer or Winter?

Winter 

-Cat or dog?

Cat 

-Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network?

Cartoon Network 

-Fresh Prince or Martin?

Fresh Prince 

-McDonald’s or Burger King?

McDonald’s 

-Super Mario or Sonic?

Sonic