Nerdy is as Nerdy Does / Geeky is as Geeky Does

No matter what I write (text, blog, book, email, or whatever), I ramble and pepper in obscure references or homages.  And when I talk?  Be prepared to interpret geekspeak.  Only bring up DC or Marvel or Sailor Moon or any other obsession if you're prepared to stay awhile.  Like, more than an hour or five.  It's best to have an exit strategy (as many of my friends do).  [smile]

Never bring up XMen 3.  [serious]


I'm a nerdy geek.  I grew up in the age of National Geographic, He-Man, Star Wars, Atari, and the Tandy PC.  And by the power of Greyskull, it's the core of my being.  I'll whip out a Batman this,  Bleach that, quoth the Raven here, or a Get Schwifty there.  Here a Rick, there a Rick, everywhere a Rick, Rick. (Infinite universes, you know.)  And oh, by the way, did you know Shinigami love apples?  [wink]

If you are a gamer, or an anime or manga fan, you will undoubtedly uncover stuff like this in The Arrival.  The more hardcore you are, the more you'll find.  Some are deliberate little Easter Eggs and some naturally occur within my voice.  Sometimes I'll forget about them and rediscover them later.  Some are so obscure or unintentional that even I miss them most of the time.  And there are others that I look for but were cut during edits.  [sad]

Homages may be obvious or invisible.  These are respectful acknowledgements to the influences that helped shape character traits or items, or are nods to stories that I love.  Spoiler free examples?

**Paresh and nature?  Toss up between Snow White and Sleeping Beauty

**Eric's general affect?  Loosely based on Vampire Hunter D (Hideyuki Kikuchi) 

**Eric's affection and desire to protect?  Influenced by Endymion/Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask (Naoko Takeuchi) and Ichigo Kurosaki (Tite Kubo)  

**Lord Endymion's appearance?  I see him as Orlando Bloom as Legalos in Lord of the Rings (JRT . . . also, Leggo my Eggo unless you're 11)  [I don't even like waffles]


The historical references in The Arrival are generally fictitious interpretations of real events and places.  But that's another post.  And there's a historical note at the end of the book.

Other references are more personal and are meant for family and friends.  A specific example:  "Kabuki" lived in my aunt's pond.  Other references include places, locales, names, and a favorite restaurant.  The most personal reference, for me, is in Confessions and no one knows what it is.   

And then there are Easter Eggs camouflaged as plain text.  I love those the most because they fit in naturally.  My favorite is "speak with the dead" and I'm not giving away where it's from.  But I will say there's a sister reference on the previous page and the two go hand in hand (the clue is also a reference!) [mischievous glint]   

Obviously, when writing a book, I can't just blurt out, "Let the wookie win!"  I mean, I could if I was writing about Star Wars and had permission or the rights, but . . . why would Chewie be involved with vampires?  Eric has an apparent dislike for chess anyway.  (For the record, always let the wookie win.) [serious]

Now, this isn't meant to say I don't take writing seriously or that you're going to read an endless string of pop culture references.  I did far too much research and spent decades of my life on this story.  I love it too much to dust it over with silly quips.  But they are fun little asides or inside jokes that I enjoy, so I hope the egg hunters out there enjoy finding them.  [big grin]