What are your cultural influences?

[TwinDeath]

I hate to admit it, but Xaul began his life as a Drizzt clone. Since then, he has become one of my favorite characters to use, and comes from many cultures.
Germanic: His name and speech styles (Knofker is actually Old High German for "knife"). Xaul's dress, as well, comes from both european fact and fantasy[u].
Indian: Xaul's weapons. While in the ToC he has only the two katars, I have also given him an urumi before. (Katars=punch daggers. Urumi= a multi-bladed sword which has blades that are as flexible as bandsaw blades.)
Middle Eastern: Resheph is actually a real god from Canaanite mythology, and has the aspects in real life that I have given him here.
Other: Xaul's actual personality owes a lot to Deadpool of Marvel Comics, as well as Heath Ledger's Joker. He is also my way to have a little fun with insanity, though.

[Typheus]

Marvel, Shonen Jump, Celtic style tales.

I can't imagine anything from real life influencing my characters too much...

[Inkfinger]

Cael's history, as a wanna-be Salvar-expatriate, is psuedo-realistic European (specifically Iron Curtain countries during the Cold War) that turned into a somewhat horrific mishmash of England and Russia. His Inkmage abilities were something I came up with based on the old story The Boy Who Drew Cats, and since then they've been developed further thanks to a friend bringing Onmyōdō to my attention. His way of dressing and fighting are both meant to be traditional Japanese-based.

And for the record, his appearance is 100% ripped from Paul Bettany in A Knight's Tale and The Reckoning, but I've tried to keep his characterization and personality free from references to either movie (other than, yanno, him being a scribe. And a tendency to say "Oh my giddy aunt," but really that's just silly).

TL;DR: Europe and Asia, both realistic and fantasy on both parts, though in my case the realistic has more an effect on my writing. I have more fun trying to fit the fantastic into something vaguely realistic than starting completely in the fantasy. FWTW, YMMV, etc etc.

[Schrodinger's Nirvana]

Considering Nirvy and Guthy are both ripped from a series and remade over to fit my leanings towards comedy I CAN'T VOTE FOR ANYTHING THERE BECAUSE YOU CAN THROW ME AT ANYTHING AND I WILL ADAPT! Most of the time!

I'm sad, I wanted to vote!

Insofar as NPCs go, Jay, Daphne and Lask were all reactions to what's considered the stereotype. In some ways I run with it, and sometimes I twist and pervert it into something new. It just happens to be fantasy because we're in a fantasy setting. But like several people here it's a case of what ideas come at the time and what the setting is.

Although Cinnamon was inspired by my dogs and her former variant on the now defunct Metal Machine Music site. I have no idea how to convert computer smiley faces and corrupted code from an AI into a living creature except to have them as crude crayon drawings.

Waaaaaaaaaait a second...