Sources of Inspiration

Hello there. I thought I'd write a bit about my different sources of inspiration that influence my writing.

As you've noticed if you read my fic, Reaching for the Sky, there is quite a bit of sci-fi there. Cybernetics and A.I.'s and inane technobabble. This is inspired by several things:

Pen and Paper roleplaying games, such as Shadowrun and White Wolf. DnD is of course a must as well, for some fantasy elements.
Most of the equipment at Samuel's disposal is inspired by Shadowrun's cyberpunk universe. Controlling a computer, communing with A.I.'d and cybernetic prothstetics that work like the legs and tail on his Pegasus Frame. Flight with wings is a bit high-fantasy and not really possible in Shadowrun, but I watch animes and play other games that use such elements. The rifle and smartgun aim are also from Shadowrun.

I am a retro gamer, playing old Playstation 2 and 1 games as well as some PS3.

From My Little Pony, I like to extrapolate on the subtle hints of an adult society with some drinking and light romance, and you've noticed I like being horrible to my main characters. The greater the strife, the bigger the hero's courage.

Euphoria especially is an example of a courageous character with very little to work with. I enjoy writing about the awkward pony anatomy and little everyday difficulties. The ponies tend to solve problems with smarts rather than brawns. You can look forward to more intense adventuring with a surprisingly resourceful, broken Unicorn who lost her Special Talent and thus forsakes her destiny in favor of learning many talents.

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I also listen to music and watch other shows. Animes include Darker Than Black, Bleach, Blood+, Sword Art Online, Claymore and Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood.
I watch movies like 2001: A Space Oddesey and Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo aka The Bodyguard. I also watched The Good, The Bad & The Ugly with Clint Eastwood and his amazing Quick-Draw. I also enjoy Charles Bronson movies. Star Wars IV-VII as well, and old Disney Movies (I am not thrilled that they own Starwars now, but honestly what could they possibly do worse after Phantom Menace?).

I listen to the songs from the MLP show, of course. I love Celestia's voice and Twilight's and Rainbow Dash (also, I'm a fan of Twilestia and Twidash). But Derpy is and always will be Best Pony. Her return in the Season Finale was amazing and very welcome. She's going to appear in Season 4, or so it's been hinted at.
I love Discord as well. I want to see how he reforms.

I listen to fanmade MLP music as well. Anything where Mandopony sings.

So many links. Go listen to that dude. Also, naturally it follows that I'm completely retarded for Luna.

Two other great artists I listen to compulsively:

Yeah, I'm into Metal, too. Anything from Power Metal to Symphonic, Death and Thrash Metal. Tenacious D, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Led Zeppelin, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Sonata Artica, Nightwish, Charon, Heavenly and so much more.

In the really strange music department, I also listen compulsively to www.symphonyofscience.com. Seriously, it's mind-boggling. I also watch the interviews listed in the About tab for each song. Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Niel DeGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman, Brian Cox, David Attenbourough and others just completely blow my mind talking about Quantom Physics and the vastness of space. The infinate complexity of life and the extreme imagination of nature. It is so incredible that humans should survive and thrive. I try to depict that endless hunger for knowledge through Samuel.

In PC gaming, I played Prince of Persia - Sands of Time, Warrior Within and Two Thrones. I also play fighting games on consoles like Tekken and free-roam games like GTA: San Andreas.

Mostly though, I just let my imagination run wild. It takes me to places like Samuel's version of Equestria, and many other places. I struggle to record even a fraction of all the insane stories I dream up every day, just thinking, picturing it in my mind. I can't turn off my imagination and I never want to. My brother always catches me staring into space for several minutes at a time, and when I come back to reality, he smiles and says, "where did you go?" and I just struggle with the words.

I've played Pen and Paper games with him and others for more than 12 years now. Well, that just about sums up what I've been using all my free time on. I wish I had the self-discipline to write a book (and not just fanfic about ponies, though it's very nice, it's an extremely obscure side of fandom). I'd probably write some of our DnD adventures, or something from Shadowrun (3rd Edition, not the new 4th Edition - that's crap).

...

Okay, that's possibly even nerdier. Right. I should probably try writing something more down-to-earth, but then look at stuff like Game of Thrones. I guess fantasy is becoming mainstream.

I've also been through surgery to cure a life-threatening disease and I have immense respect for the medical science that saved my life. If a doctor tells me to jump, I jump. No questions. I love living in a country with free healthcare. Yes, I'm european but I've chosen to write in american since Samuel is most likely from there and not europe. Also, people look at me funny when I spell colour with a u.

That pretty much sums it up and I think I'm done rambling for now. More Reaching for the Sky to come.