i like to avoid real world references in Shadoweyes, both pop culture and real world people and events, i feel like it would wreck the world the characters live in and place it in a definite time period or place. all the bands/musicians and things on the characters' wall posters and in their room are made up, which the few exceptions being nods to my friends' stories (which, in Scout's alternate universe, are maybe huge blockbuster properties!).
anyway, but i couldn't resist calling the game store Maze Of Ith, which is from Magic: The Gathering and one of the game's most annoying cards (at least when i was playing back in the day), and for anyone familiar with the game rules it's kind of a super nerdy metaphor for Scout's situation and the city of Dranac itself! i believe the only other real-world reference is the mogwai joke on page 68, which i couldn't resist at the time but which i think i might remove if i ever re-release the book. mogwai is probably too pop culture-specific. :\
i tried to make it clear the people Scout is talking to in panel 2 are homeless, or at least squatters or whatever. they're probably the only people Scout could ask for information, people living in places the police don't go or people who may feel some solidarity with Shadoweyes. i also figured that in the time Scout has been away from home that she's built up a small number of homeless acquaintances, like the dude giving her a bagel in an earlier page, that sort of thing. in early drafts the skinny girl to the left of Scout in panel 2, Ratana, was a major character, she showed Scout the ropes and was her introduction to the homeless community, but the way i ended up structuring the story i couldn't figure out how to make it fit anymore and Ratana was just one character too many, so i had to give her this little cameo. i'm still kinda sad about axing her so maybe i'll try to bring her back later in the story...