I first noticed this when I played Warcraft 3 again. By the time I'd finished Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne, my son could do outstanding Undead Sylvanas impressions, had divided all his toys into melee/ranged/spellcaster units, and would set up town halls and gold mines when he played outside. The best part? When I asked him if he wanted to watch me play and he replied with a bellow of 'my life for the horde!'
Parenting Pride Level: 9
Fanparenting also presents opportunities to discuss difficult topics. Telling my son about stranger danger didn't go down well until I used Orochimaru as an example. Nothing quite like pairing real life lessons with creepy snake men who want to possess teenage boys so they can live forever.
The bad guy conversation can be tricky to navigate. Dangerous people aren't always strangers, and it's almost impossible to explain such fine distinctions to a young child. Orochimaru may be an obvious example of a bad man, but the less obvious 'evil' characters in Naruto also work as fair examples. There's Danzou and his political machinations, Sasuke and his revenge, the Akatsuki, etc.
On a side note, trying to keep up with reading sub titles aloud is excellent motivation for teaching the basics of a different language.
One of the nicest perks to being a nerd parent is the sheer fun of it. You get to watch Last Airbender marathons, have wizard duels with impromptu wands, and play shinobi. You'll be presented with weird drawings of the freaking lion turtle (true story, and oh how I treasure it) and prompted to invent Stronghold inspired strategy games. Your child's old towel will become a batman cape, certain pairs of gloves will now be known as Sakura Gloves, and feathers will be taped to all his kokis so they resemble quills.
Parenting often feels like you're following wisps through a swamp, hoping they'll lead you to safety. My compass is based on a set of ideals, one of which is the ability to find common ground. Being a nerdy, geeky parent is my way of doing this and, lucky for me, it works more often than it backfires.