Simon of the Playa wrote:
A:
Homage in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or
vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in
exchange the symbolic title to his new position (investiture). It was a
symbolic acknowledgment to the lord that the vassal was, literally, his
man (homme). The oath known as "fealty" implied lesser obligations than
did "homage".

B:
Use of homage may be regarded as fannish or as an excuse for lack of
originality.
...things take shape, if not color?