Nerdology 101: The Terminology

Heys! Welcome back, dearest nerdy readers (lol). Thank you once again for joining me. This week, I want to take some time out to go over some standard nerdy terminology. My hope is to make our communities more accessible to those who are curious, but still trying to find their footing. With that being said, let’s get into some Nerdology!!!!

Quick Search Info (as always, listing for anime and books are longer. I’m more personally involved in these nerdoms. I game, but I don’t game nearly enough to know everything about the subject):

1. Terms used in this blog

2. Terms used when talking about Anime/Manga

3. Terms used when talking about Books

4. Terms used when talking about Gaming

Terms Used Frequently in this Blog:

Here’s some general nerdy terms I use (non-specific to the niches that fall under the nerdom):

Nerdom - The nerdy community as a whole. Meant to combine nerd and kingdom.

Nerdology - The name of my blog. Technically, it can mean the study of the nerdom (people, culture, etc.).

Both of these terms are used by others within the nerdom, so they’re good to know.

Anime Terms:

These terms mostly have to do with anime/manga:

Anime - An animated show or movie made by Japanese people.

Manga - A serialized style of story that is often the basis for anime made by Japanese people.

Shonen - Anime or manga targeting young boys. Most of your mainstream anime fall under this umbrella (Naruto, Bleach, Demon Slayer, My Hero Acadamia, etc.).

Yaoi - Anime featuring a love story between two men.

Yuri - Anime featuring a love story between two women.

Harem - A single male character ends up with multiple female love interests.

Reverse Harem - A single female character ends up with multiple male love interests.

Ecchi - An anime or manga with a lot of fanservice or sexual content.

Isekai - An anime or manga where the main character dies and is reborn into a new world.

Slice of Life - An anime of manga where the story is based in every day life.

Josei - Anime or manga made for adult women.

Seinen - Anime or manga made for adult men.

Mecha - Anime or manga featuring robots.

Shojo - Anime or manga primarily made for young girls.

Note: A lot of these definitions have gendered definitions, but anyone can watch and enjoy any of them. Many do. The only real difference is in the fact that anime targeting boys/men focus on action/adventure and anime targeting girls/women focus on romance/emotion. Many of the action/adventure still have romance in them. Many of the romance/emotion still have action in them. I’ve watched anime that fall under all of these and more at some point or another. Please remember to be inclusive.

Bookish Terms

Romantasy - The combination of Romance and Fantasy, usually in equal parts. (Romantic fantasy and fantasy romance are terms for if the book leans more one way than the other).

Dark Romance - Romance books featuring a lot of dark, potentially triggering content. Dark in this case meaning high spice, kink, and sexually explicit content. (In same cases, like the term Dark Romantasy or Dark Fantasy, people may use the word dark to describe dark storylines, gothic settings, etc, or they might still be describing the spice. For clarities sake, I describe The Fate of Angels and Demons as Romantasy with Dark Romance like spice so there’s no mistaking that I’m talking about the kink/sexual content in it).

HEA - Happily ever after

HFN - Happy for now (usually in reference to a series where the couple ends the book together and happy, but it’s implied that things might not stay that way).

FMC - Female Main Character (there can be two FMC’s in sapphic/WLW romance)

MMC - Male Main Character (there can be two MMC’s in gay/MLM romance)

*I was recently asked about nonbinary characters. Just saying MC since “main character” isn’t inherently gendered might be okay. Alternatively, if you want to specify that the character is nonbinary, NBMC . Ultimately, though, I’m not nonbinary. I can’t decide how they want to be referred to in fiction. These are just options that are available for speaking inclusively in the interim. If a nonbinary person would like to share their preferred term for referring to a nonbinary main character, they’re free to send me a message via the form on the home page of this website and I will update this based on that. The same applies to other gender identities. I do read a range of works written by nonbinary people, but I really haven’t seen a specific term emerge for characters, so please feel free to correct me.

One Bed - A popular book trope where love interests end up at an inn, hotel, shack, or some sort of sleeping place on their journey and there’s only one bed so they just have to sleep together and usually also end up sleeping together.

Enemies to Lovers - A popular book trope where the love interests start out as enemies. Similar terms include friends to lovers, which means the characters start out as friends and become lovers.

Side Character - Character that isn’t the main character.

Smut - Books with a lot of spice. (The word smut does not mean the book lacks literary value, is porn, or anything of the sort).

Spice - Sexually explicit content in books.

ARC - Advanced Reader Copy (Ebooks or physical books sent to readers to encourage early reviews of a title that is not yet released).

ALC - Advanced Listener Copy (An ARC, but it’s an audiobook).

Beta Reader - Early readers that provide an author with feedback early on in the manuscripts development.

NetGalley/BookFunnel/Booksprout - Platforms for distributing, finding, and receiving pre-release ARC’s and ALC’s. Netgalley is best for large publishers and popular books, but is also the place new ARC readers are most likely to be rejected. BookFunnel and Booksprout are cost-friendly alternatives mostly used by indie authors. On all of these platforms, the reader pays nothing.

Indie Author - Independent author. Self-publishers or those with small presses.

Trad - Shorthand for Traditional publishing.

Gaming

TTRPG - Table top roleplaying game (like Dungeons and Dragons)

MMORPG - Massively Multi-Player Online Roleplaying Game (like Genshin Impact).

RPG - Roleplaying game. Game where you assume the role of a fictional character and have a real impact on the storyline and character development.

First-Person Shooter - A game where the primary mechanic is shooting (like Call of Duty).

Open-World - A gaming world where you can wander freely and without restriction.

Sandbox -A gaming world that is inbetween Open and Closed world. You have a degree of freedom, but not total freedom.

Cozy - A relaxed game (like Stardew Valley).

Farming - A game where growing food/materials is the primary focus (like Stardew Valley).

Otome - Romance games, primarily in the anime/manga style (like the Ikemen games).

Okay, we covered quite a few terms here. There are still a lot I haven’t talked about, but these should be enough to help you start connecting with the nerdom and engaging in conversation without feeling totally confused, or start engaging with a part of the nerdom that you haven’t previously. I’ll see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Don’t forget to stop by the STORE and buy a copy of my book, The Fate of Angels and Demons, coming April 1st. Have a nerdy week!

Nerdology 101: Fictional Crushes

Heyyyyy! How are all my nerdy peoples? If you’re new here, welcome! This is Nerdology 101 and I’m your resident nerd, Maria Levato. This week I wanted to dive into the topic of fictional crushes (from my experience, every nerd has them. No need to be shy about it). I’ll be sharing a few of my own, but also discussing them in a more broad sense. With that being said, why don’t we get started with some NERDOLOGYYYY?

Experiencing a romantic or sexual attraction to a fictional character is a pretty common occurence. From the “Hear me out” cakes on social media to the existence of BookTok/Bookstagram/Booksky a lot of people have come to terms with that fact. In fact, many of us have built entire communities around our fictional crushes. This phenomenon has been around much longer than these communities, though. Back in the ancient time of the millenial, those of us who embraced fictophilia were often outcasts and it was hard to find people who could relate. Do you know what I would have given as a kid to know I wasn’t the only one waking up at 5AM to watch Inuyasha because I had a crush on Sesshomaru… and Inuyasha… and Koga…? (I don’t have a problem, I don’t have a problem). Nowadays, though, my list of fictional crushes extends beyond anime and other cartoon characters. Characters from books such as Nikolai Sokolov and Rayne have also taken me by storm.

So, why do so many of us experience this attraction to fictional characters so intensely? It’s simple, really. Knowing they’re not real doesn’t change the fact that they fulfill a real need. The need is often for safe spaces to experience romance, partners who are emotionally open to us, and sometimes even to explore fantasies we can’t safely explore irl for one reason or another. In most cases, this is healthy and can have a positive impact in helping people better define their needs in a human-to-human romance. People who don’t know what they’re looking for tend to end up in bad relationships. These fictional crushes can help us to better understand ourselves, what we’re looking for, and learn how to communicate that to a potential partner. What many view as a form of escapism, I view as a potentially theraputic outlet for exploring ourselves and our desires.

Now that I’ve said as much, let’s talk about my top fictional crushes from each of my nerdy realms:

1. Anime - Vanitas and Noe (The Case Study of Vanitas)

   Yes, I count them as ONE fictional crush because I wouldn’t want to be with one unless the other was also present. While they’re both hot and I acknowledge some part of this has to do with an MMF fantasy, they also fulfill different needs. Vanitas is passionate, wild, obsessive, and capable of embracing my particular brand of insanity. He’d be the perfect partner for the enemies-to-lovers, banter-y arguing part of my desires. Noe, on the otherhand, is sweet, affectionate, and loyal above all else. I’d find that fulfilling in the moments that I just wanna curl up and cuddle. I can totally picture him letting me lay my head in his lap and read a book without interrupting me—just being glad to have me close. Together, they make a perfect boyfriend.

2. Gaming - Kaeya (Genshin Impact)

   Kaeya has a flirty nature, relaxed vibe, and a bit of a mysterious element while also remaining a safe guy. I think he has broad appeal that most people who’re attracted to men can get into. It’s easy to consider him my top gaming crush.

3. Books - Samkiel (Gods and Monsters by Amber V. Nicole)

   Samkiel is ideal in pretty much every aspect. I’d have zero complaints. If I listed every aspect of him that I love, this blog post would never go up because I’d likely spend the rest of my life completing that list.

4. Special Mention: Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh)

   What do you mean he’s an ancient Egyptian pharoah with a tiny ball of fur that can take out Blue-Eyes White Dragon?! Of course I love him. Lol.

   Anyway, who are your top fictional crushes? Let me know. As always, I’ll be back next Friday at 3PM EST for the next segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Nerdology 101: Rabbit Holes

There you are! Here to hear me rant about some Nerdology? Of course you are because you’re a good little nerd. Yes, you are. Such a good nerd.

Welcome back to Nerdology 101, I’m your host, Maria Levato, and this week I wanna talk about my beloved rabbit holes (they are sacred and necessary. Do not come for them or I will hiss at you). Rabbit holes are the centerpiece of all my best writing, so today I’m going to tell you about a few of my recent favs. Whaddya say? Wanna get into some Nerdology? Let’s gooo!

1. How I Define the Difference between Rabbit Hole and Regular Research

   Could I have effectively written what I was trying to write without knowing this? If yes, it’s probably a rabbit hole. I do note, though, that the fact that I could write something without the information doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no benefit to writing it with it. Oftentimes, I find that writing with the additional information is the difference between producing something that sounds right to someone with no familiarity and producing something that sounds right to someone who knows. For example, geography. I once wrote a short story where a majority of the events took place in Dublin, Ireland. I could have convincingly wrote some version of “We ate at a restaurant by the River Liffey.” and most American’s likely would have accepted that as enough detail. Instead, I wrote that the characters ate at PHX Bistro, a small restaurant by the River Liffey. That’s a detail that would help the story feel more like its truly happening in Dublin to someone from Dublin, or to others that have been there. It wouldn’t necessarily have been bad writing if I didn’t name a specific restaurant, but that little bit of detail made it a bit more tangible. Of course, that’s not a rabbit hole in and of itself because I didn’t research that so much as I just knew it from travelling, but it’s a great example of how a detail might make a big difference in how convincing the writing is. Thus, my argument that rabbit hole as sacred stands.

2. Recent Rabbit Hole - Demons

   (Note: For context, it’s useful to know that I write romantasy. Romance that is central to the plot based in a completely fictional world of my own making. However, there’s a paranormal and mythological element in the sense that my characters are often angels, demons, gods, priestesses, etc.. My magic systems and set ups are often based in a slew of different beliefs, taking elements from them to create something original. So, my research is often in finding those puzzle pieces from various belief systems, cultures, and periods of history to build it).

   For reasons I can’t explain without spoiling future releases, this one was extremely useful. So, did you know that the modern word demon comes the Greek word Daimon, which just meant deity? There was no evil connotation on the word until the Catholic Church came into the picture. Presumably, the word Daimon being used to refer to deities that weren’t their preferred deity and therefore it picked up a negative/evil connotation as they gained more power throughout Europe since they were monotheistic and viewed the worship of other deities as an evil act. But yeah, demons are pretty much just deities and whether they are a threat or not depends mostly on who you are and what demon you’re interacting with. Not every demon we see discussed in texts about them is necessarily hostile towards humans. The Lemegeton, for example, talks about demons, but it also goes into detail when classifying them. It speaks about their personalities, the danger or lackthereof in interacting with them, and more. This sort of implies that there was an understanding in medieval Europe, at least among those who sought out this type of knowledge, that demons weren’t necessarily evil. That understanding prevails today in some ways, though its became increasingly less prevailing for a few decades because of media portrayals, then took a turn in more recent years where that understanding started to revitalize itself. Needless to say, there are plenty of people who still cling to the evil connotation of the word, but it only really holds up when held under the lens of a monotheistic theology.

   Point being that etymology proves quite useful in writing fantasy. Knowing this helped me lead a character to a huge moment of self-discovery that I was able to write extremely well because I had gone down the rabbit hole to get the right information to make it work. It was also just fun because it set off a slew of personal research that really doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m writing, but I’m enjoying it quite a bit. I like learning about these things, and who knows? Info that isn’t relevant to my writing can occassionally resurface later as being exactly what I need. It’s sort of unpredictable that way.

3. Recent Rabbit Hole - Mesopotamia

   Another topic I recently had to do some digging on was Mesopotamia, the gods of the culture and time, and it’s geographic placement compared to modern maps. My findings were prettty cool. I hadn’t looked into Mesopotamia too much before this so I went in with very little background knowledge to base my research on, which is rare because usually these types of things are matters I’m led to write about because of an interest I already have. In this case, though, it was a bit more random. I liked that because it left so much room for inspiration since everything I was getting was new to me. It also gave me a path to learning about Iran a little more (when looking into museums and historic sites) and develop an interest in the culture.

   Because what I was looking into was so broad, I can’t go into all of it here, but I will talk about a point that I found particularly useful. Separating dynasties is an important point when discussing Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was a region more than it was a reference to a specific civilization. Most information is a bit more specific to the empire that was ruling it at the time. There were quite a few changes in power, but for my purposes, I was focused on periods of Sumerian and Akkadian rules (probably what most people are thinking of when they say Mesopotamia. About 3,200B.C. to 2154B.C. for both dynasties). In the dates is a fact that took me a while to wrap my head around. The Old Kingdom era of Ancient Egypt was roughly from 2686-2181B.C. Which means there was a fairly decent overlap in dates where the Akkadian empire and the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt existed at the same time. The Great Pyramids of Giza were constucted a few centuries prior to the fall of the Akkadian dynasty. I’m sure you can imagine all the ways a fantasy writer could utilize that bit of information. Oh yeah… That alone was gold to me. Not to mention all the other great stuff I found while researching. I’m so excited with how its turning out on the page too!

   I hope you all enjoyed hearing about some of my recent rabbit holes. Have you had any of your own of late? Let me know. I’ll see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

   Sources

   https://www.history.com/articles/mesopotamia

   https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/monuments/the-great-pyramid

   https://www.britishmuseum.org/learn/schools/ages-7-11/ancient-egypt/timeline-ancient-egypt

   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demon#word-history