Mystery Science Theater En Masse
Special Obscure References
For Episodes 3-4
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Episode 3 - A Story of Destined Love
(All Parts)
*Somewhere in each part, Sonic makes at least one riff that involves cheese or eating cheese. He also passes cheese cubes around or stuffs them in a fellow riffer's mouth. In Part Three, Manic makes a cheese riff. In Part Five, Kyo calls out a "cheesy" quote and demands a cheese cube from Sonic.*
So why is Sonic making most of the cheese riffs? It turns out that, at one point, Sonic was voiced by Jaleel White, who's most known for playing Steve Urkel. He's also voiced Sonia and Manic, but Sonia's immune to the cheese thing.
(Part One)
Keiko: Well, look on the bright side; we're not riffing Streets--
Benimaru: *chuckling nervously* Um, I don't think the author would
like that little tumor to come up again, Keiko.
Benimaru's right; I don't want that little tumor to come up, at least in the full story. If you're curious, just read the "La Péril" History and Mystery, and Miyu will certainly explain it.
Sonic: Sure beats "forest green with a lovely almond eye shape", that's for damn sure.
Callback to "Defying Destiny".
Amy: *pats Emi on the back* Hey, don't worry; we've all had our
characters derailed to one point or another...
Emi: Um, thanks, Miss Rose. I think you're starting to hurt me.
Amy: *now hitting Emi's back, gritting her teeth* Yes, it's been
derailed to the point where you couldn't do anything when you're being overshadowed by someone who is
completely useless, and--
Sonic: *pulls Amy away* Okay, thank you for the crummy comfort, Amy!
Now Amy can't let it go; it's a reference to "The White Hedgehog". Specifically, Kathryn gave the finger to her "sister" when she wanted to help. Keep in mind that Kat couldn't battle a robot by herself, and yet she wanted to (and eventually did!) steal the spotlight from her "sister".
(Part Two)
Emi: And the burning continued, and it became unfunny!
Sonic: *in a church choir uniform* Hallelujah... wait. Why am I carrying
this over from the last special?
Sonia, Manic, Amy: *shrugs*
And praise Him! Oh, sorry. Focus on Sonic's line; he's calling back to "Brewdening Love".
Sonic: Friggin' Dusk.
Sonic's making a reference to "Ultimate", specifically the parts where the recolor Stu blocked or dodged almost every attack "with ease".
(Part Three)
Emi: Yes, destroying marriage a lot harder than Britney Spears could ever do will do that to you.
Emi's making a reference to the pop star's first marriage in 2004, where she wed her childhood friend and had an anullment... 55 hours later. Emi could be making a jab at her second marriage as well, but nobody's really sure.
Sonic: It doesn't matter? What the hell are you on?!
Reference to Sonic's theme in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, "It Doesn't Matter".
Sonic: *sarcastically* Ey, Kyo. It said 'come'.
Kyo: *sarcastically* Heh. Crazy, Sonic.
Callback riff from "Ultimate". It's a bit odd considering that Kyo Kusanagi channeled Kyo LeMaire for a little bit.
Benimaru: Huh. No wonder some people don't like your
personality in XIII, Kyo.
Kyo: *grumbles* Ash Crimson...
Benimaru: *snickers*
Reference to the Japan Team's official KOF XIII story. Kyo basically grunted and grumbled at Benimaru whenever he asked a question. For heaven's sake, Daimon spoke more to Benimaru than Kyo did!
(Part Four)
Benimaru: Let's hope that it doesn't turn into "The
Jade, Shadow, and Scourge Sex Fest".
Kyo, Emi, Keiko: *shudders*
Callback to "Always You".
All: *singing* New York, New York... It's a helluva town!
Yes, I pieced the two riffs together. Saves space and all. Anyway, it's a song lyric from "New York, New York"... the On the Town soundtrack, not the Frank Sinatra one.
Emi: *shakes her head* Ugh... can my old self be any more flowery?
What's next, I have... I mean, had... the most wonderful singing voice that can lull others to
sleep?
Amy: Nope. The triplets and I have already dealt with someone like that.
Emi: And what happened to her?
Amy: Sonia shot her with her keytar laser, execution style.
Emi: Oh! That's a bit harsh, isn't it?
Sonic, Sonia, Manic, Amy: Nope.
Reference to one of Kathryn's "abilities"... the dreaded beautiful singing voice. And yes, just like how Jessie killed the old version of Sabrina, Sonia did kill Kathryn offscreen. Apparently, you can't get arrested for murdering Sues here.
Amy: Maybe he'll ask for some tea before that!
Callback to Sonic's riff from "Ultimate": "Also, I'm joing him for a cup of tea beforehand. Would you mind telling him that?"
Amy: I don't want to know what kind of fun he's planning on having.
Benimaru: I think we'll be
okay... if he doesn't use razorblades.
Another callback to "Always You". Actually, that's one of the more cringeworthy callbacks.
(Part Five)
Manic: It's either that, the world's worst power grid, or Ohio's screwed up again.
Reference to the Northeast Blackout of 2003.
Keiko: I'm sensing a callback. A callback that I don't want.
Yet another "Always You" callback.
Benimaru: *trying to get out of Emi's grasp* I will tap dance on your grave! You hear me, Kusanagi?!
Benimaru: Get the grave ready. I already have my shoes and top hat!
Benimaru: Damn. There goes the tap dancing.
All three of those quotes from Benimaru contain unintentional obscure references to the Simpsons episode, "Fraudcast News". In the episode, Mr. Burns was thought to have died in a landslide, and the city... well, couldn't be happier. Homer, Lenny, and Carl were more than eager to tap dance on Burns's (nonexistent) grave.
It's even more ironic when you consider what happens in the sequel to this fic... Kusanagi, like Burns, continues to torment everyone. At least Burns's tormenting was a lot more tasteful.
Episode 4 - Kusanagi's Wrath
(Part One)
Emi: *eats a few cheese cubes*
Keiko: Sonic's really influencing you, huh?
Emi: Yeah, I guess.
Callback to Sonic's antics in the "A Story of Destined Love" riffing.
Cassy: Oh. Okay... at least it beats "mind eating", that's for sure.
Callback to "Jasukurini Sakaraemonii".
Cassy: *holds up a church choir uniform* Joan. Or Erin. And then they were sent to Hell.
Kyo L.: I'm not wearing that uniform, Cass. Get outta here.
Callback to "Brewdening Love".
(Part Two)
Miyu: How purple was that sentence? Sources say that it was a "peony" color.
Don't ask how Miyu knows, but she's referring to "Kii and the Mirror of Chaos", where the resident Sue was a "peony" color. Actually, the girl was purple. Just purple.
Emi: Don't abuse your random empathy powers. You are
not Airhead, old me.
Miyu: *pushes glasses up* At this rate, she might as well be
Airhead.
There's nothing more scathing than being compared to Ariana Black, as Emi discovered when she compared her present self to her past self.
Miyu: *as Emi* Sure thing, Omega Kusanagi.
Kyo L., Jessie, Cassy: I want to hit you, Miyu.
Yes, it's another "Ultimate" callback... which does make sense if you read that riffing in question and compared Dusk to Kusanagi.
Cassy: Are you sure? Why don't you try burning them?
Keiko: That won't work, Morgan. Besides, none of the flame users can
burn chains, but they can break locks with their awkward physical strength.
That happened in "A Story of Destined Love". Yes, Amy had to call that out.
(Part Three)
Kyo L.: If you have diabeetus, and you've been reading terrible fanfiction, you may qualify for a free cyanide pill from LeMaire Medical.
Kyo LeMaire is parodying the Liberty Medical commercials.
Kyo K.: *spouts angry gibberish through clenched teeth while squeezing the Rubik's Cube with his right hand* Mother of shit!
Kyo Kusanagi's managed to mimic... pokecapn. (And yes, pokecapn's name is spelled like that.) He's referencing the infamous Sonic 2006 Let's Play. (If you're wondering, the Let's Player himself yells that out during the 10th part, where he's doing the third attempt at the Radical Train's Mach Speed section. The whole scenario leading up to that begins around 23:46 into the video.)
(Part Four)
Kyo L.: Exactly, you faker!
Miyu, Jessie, Cassy: *groans*
Cassy: I want to murder you twice, dude.
Why are the Black Crow women groaning? Because it's yet another "Ultimate" callback.
Miyu: *in a high-pitched voice* Toasty!
Never played "Mortal Kombat" before? Starting in the second game, when a strong uppercut is performed, that line that Miyu said will occasionally be heard, and it comes with a person who will pop up in the bottom right corner of the screen. (It's basically an easter egg. The person in question is the sound designer, Dan Forden.)
Benimaru: *as himself* Okay, then. *rips Kyo's broken arm off and
proceeds to beat him with it* Yeah, it's fixed now! You like that?! Huh?!
Everyone else: *slowly moves away from Benimaru*
Cassy: *mumbling* Frickin' reverse Quan Chi, dude...
Focus on Benimaru's action and Cassy's response; they both reference Quan Chi's iconic fatality from "Mortal Kombat 4" (the "Leg Beatdown", in which he rips the opponent's leg off and beats him/her with the limb in question, hence Cassy's "reverse" line).
Keiko: What? We don't have a gigantic paragraph this time?
Kyo K.: Praise the damn Lord, Tsukino.
Kyo L., Cassy: *stares at their church choir uniforms* Yeah... forget it.
Maybe this should be the last time I make a reference to the uniforms that were worn by Sonic, Manic, Kyo L., and Cassy in the "Brewdening Love" riffing.
(Part Five)
Kyo K.: America!
Everyone else: Fuck no!
Kyo K.: Well, that backfired horribly.
Reference to the theme song in "Team America: World Police"... only everyone else was supposed to say, "Fuck Yeah!" in response. Keep in mind that Kyo K. is only making fun of the fic having American qualities/school policies/mannerisms when they're supposed to be Japanese.
Kyo L.: Like Kathryn getting away with her bitchassness.
Ignore the fact that it's another potshot at MST 'EM's most hated Mary Sue; focus on the last word in Kyo L.'s sentence. It's actually a word that P. Diddy made up in his series "Making The Band". A possible meaning of the word involves being a prick to everyone.
Miyu: *singing* I'm starting with the man in the mirror...
Obvious... mostly. Miyu's singing the late Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror".
Kyo L.: Digging up the past. *reads from the paper* Julia Austin said, "We want you to be inside of our heads." I replied with, "Ask a certain Kusanagi member about that stuff, and then come back to us." *tosses the paper away, licks his lips* Yes... it's certainly time for me to experience the crazy with friends now!
He's actually plucked out a callback. Kyo L.'s referring to "All Men Apparently Suck" (the Black Crow's seventh episode).
Kyo L.: *as Kazuya Mishima* Give in to the anger! Hate me! Curse me! *laughs psychotically* Rise! Kazama Jin!
Reference to a cutscene in Jin's "Tekken 4" story mode. It won't work if you're playing as Kazuya, since he'll only say the latter part of the line.
Kyo K.: You should've been heard, understood, and pleasing. You were clearly heard, but we didn't understand you... and you certainly weren't pleasing. As a matter of fact, I think you blew out my damn eardrums.
It's been a while, but it is a callback to "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Kyo K.'s referencing the short "Speech: Using Your Voice", which is found in Episode 313 (the feature was "Earth Vs. The Spider").
Kyo L.: If he spills the beans... oh, never mind. *places his "Pyromaniacal Dumbass" dunce cap on his head*
Callback to "Sabrina's Adventure", where the Black Crow's male fox made dunce caps for himself and his riffmates.
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