There is a fun meme going around Twitter where you recommend five things from a particular topic that represent you or your tastes. I’ve seen and answered ones for poetry, comic books, and video games.

In the spirit of that and proudly waving my nerd flag high, I’m going to share five things that represent my nerdiness.

1. The Magical Girl Genre

If I see the words “magical girls” or “mahou shoujo” attached to any product, there is a good chance that I will check it out. The magical girl genre is probably one of the most relatable, empowering, and fun piece of pop culture I’ve ever encountered.

Not only have magical girl media like Sailor Moon, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Steven Universe significantly impacted me, but I also love seeing how the magical girl genre has influenced other creators. As a freelance pop culture critic, I’ve written a lot about the magical girl genre and its influence on me and American creators.

2. Fantasy and a dash of sci-fi (esp. Afrofuturism)

Although my love of fantasy fiction and a dash of sci-fi isn’t limited to novels, it’s certainly where it starts. I love magic, dragons, and mythology and some time-travel stuff. I consume SFF from a variety of people, but I’m especially interested in anything with Afrofuturist leanings (i.e. fantasy and sci-fi from the African disapora).

For example, Janelle Monáe’s album The Archandroid is one of my muses. The book pictured above, Nicky Drayden’s The Prey of Gods, became a favorite of mine last year. I’ve also written extensively about Black speculative fiction in various places, most notably the website Black Sci-fi.

3. Video Games

Although I could try and do a whole different blog post about why I play and love video games, I personally don’t think there is much to say. As a kid, they just entertained me, but as an adult I also use them to relieve stress.

Even though I have to monitor myself  to maintain a healthy relationship with video games, the experience of playing them never ceases to thrill me. I usually play mobile Eastern RPGs (i.e. games made in Asia), but certain mobile indie games or hidden object adventure games catch my eye sometimes too.

Right now, I’m currently playing a Japanese RPG called Fernz Gate. Recent games I’ve enjoyed include Witch Spring 2 (pictured above) and Final Fantasy IV.

4. Comic Books, Webcomics, & Graphic Novels

Initially, I was only reading comics made for the web. I had a snooty opinion about comic books (esp. superhero comics) that consisted of them being all about folks beating each other up (the movies are to blame).

Reading Volumes 1- 4 of G. Willow Wilson’s Ms. Marvel, the comics anthology Valor, and Monstress Vol. 1 changed my opinion for the better. Although I’m still mostly an indie comics reader, I don’t hate superheroes anymore. There are too many types of superheroes and too many types of comics to make snap judgements.

Some of my personal favorites (besides the Ms. Marvel comics I’ve mentioned), are Power & Magic: The Queer Witch anthology and the graphic novel Window Horses by Ann Marie Fleming.

5.  Poetry

When most people think about poetry, they think about the rigid or flowery language of dead guys like Shakespeare or Walt Whitman. In the past year or so, I’ve discovered that there is so much more to poetry than what you are forced to read in school.

Two particular types of poetry I’m fond of at the moment are speculative poetry and pop culture poetry. Speculative poetry is sci-fi and fantasy poetry, while pop culture poetry can be nerdy and enthusiastic about anything ranging from video games to Beyoncé.

While Life On Mars by Tracy K. Smith introduced me to speculative poetry, the online poetry website FreezeRay introduced me to pop culture poetry. Both are genres are influencing me wonderfully and I look forward to seeing what I write next.

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