Pretty good about it, I guess. Tough question. My work is derivative, for sure. We're only as clever as the obscurity of our sources, right?

I get the feeling this question was meant to be an insult, but truthfully it's something I think about fairly often. Culture builds on itself. Its a system I'm jazzed to be able to contribute to. Unsure about your use of "brainchild", as it has weird implications, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with any creative work that I'm taken with that I wouldn't consider derivative.