Oh boy, where to start! There are so many in-jokes and cameo appearances in this story... well, here goes. I'll begin at the beginning.
I mostly use the American dub names, just because that's what i'm used to. However, the generals/kings/whatever you want to call him are called by their original Japanese names, just because they make more sense. I mean, they're minerals. Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite... Might as well just leave them that way. (I've been told I slip up on occaison. Oops.) Zoisite is usually male, but occaisonally one of us would slip and say "she" or "her" instead of "he" or "him". I just left this in when typing it up.
Here's a list of the in-jokes", in order of appearance. Please note that some silly things you may not understand aren't listed, because we don't understand them either. ^_^*
Trelane - This character first appeared in an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, and later in a novel by Peter David. He’s a near-omnipotent being with a profound interest in Earth’s history... and also a child looking for something new to play with. Lauren doesn’t like him much...
Sam Neill - Lauren has a huge obsession with him for some reason. Okay, so he’s a good actor, and surprisingly handsome for being fifty-something... ::shrugs::
The German “a rink-dink-dink-DINK” song - Yes, this is real. Lauren heard it played in her German class. That’s just about all the song is...
“Cappuccino” - I got an e-mail once where someone was trying to create a new slang word. You don’t really need my explanation of what it means ^_^*
David Attenborough - I have no idea where this came from. It was Lauren!
Anthracite Coal Land - I had all the character symbols for this story written out on the back of an Earth Science work sheet listing the names of various rocks and minerals. Anthracite Coal just happened to be one of them.
Girl-in-a-black-skirt - That would be Lauren.
Roddy MacDowell singing Beatles - I don’t know where this came from either. ^_^* I think I’ll just stop trying to explain the unexplainable...
Kunzite’s True Love - It IS obvious to someone besides us that he’s desperately in love with his cape, right?
Playing Chess - A bit like the “cappuccino” thing. This started from a segment in the Star Trek Encyclopedia involving a slave woman named Drusilla who was given to Capt. Kirk one night. The end of it said “They probably did not play chess.” Since then, both the terms “playing chess” and “not playing chess” have been considered suggestive by us.
The Evil Clown - I am TERRIFIED of clowns. I don’t know why. Now it’s kind of a joke between me and all of my friends.
Q - Another Star Trek character, omnipotent, and rumored by many to belong to the same race as Trelane. In the novel Q-Squared he is supposed to be Trelane’s mentor but sometimes does a really bad job of it.
Ryan Stiles - As it says, an actor in The Drew Carey Show who also regularly appeared in Whose Line Is It Anyway? (You can catch reruns on Comedy Central.)
Sumeria B.C. 787 - I don’t quite know where this is from other than it was a Monty Python sketch.
Clive Anderson - The host of Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Darien's bus - Well, he drove one in that episode where Rei showed up...
The Suggestive Latin Story - Okay, if you REALLY want a translation, here it is: "Flaminia and Marius are in the bedroom. They are very happy. Flaminia wants Marius, and Marius wants Flaminia. In the bedroom-"
Nephrite's disguise - C'mon, I'm sure we aren't the only people who see his uncanny resemblance to Ms. Haruna.
Mallo Cups - If only I could get a picture of Lauren's Profile of a Mallo Cup. It was hilarious. ^_^ Chocolate covering on a marshmallow center. ::drools:: They're heavenly, but it's hard to find places that sell them.
Kunzite's TEE-vee - Lauren puts emphasis on the T when saying "T.V.", which I think is weird... so we got in a little battle over it.
"Compromise" is, of course, a real fanfic. And it really does set up Kunzite and Andrew. It's very well-written... The author's site is http://www.kuwamiko.com/KnMmain2.html, but the story is no longer posted to my knowledge. By the way, I don't have permission to use it or anything, so if becki reads this... umm... ^_^* Hey, be honored that it inspired me.
Andrew's phone number - Ah, figure it out yourself.
Harvey the Wonder Hamster - by "Weird Al" Yankovich. Entire lyrics: "Harvey, Harvey, Harvey the wonder hamster. He doesn't bite and he doesn't squeal, he just runs around on his hamster wheel. Harvey, Harvey, Harvey the wonder hamster! Hey Harvey!"
Rezo - From Slayers. He's the villain for half of the first series, but not a bad guy. I like him. He was blind, but at the end he opened his eyes and... they were gorgeous!
Turning beavers into gold - From an episode of Freakazoid!, one of the strangest TV shows ever.
Mathmagic Land - Ever see the movie Donald in Mathmagic Land? I think I had to watch it ever year in elementary and middle school. ::sigh:: It's haunting me.
Death Co. - In Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles' character works at Drug Co. This also comes from somebody writing "Death is Cool" somewhere at school but not quite finishing.
The scene that greets Andrew upon his return from the fast food run is my personal romantic fantasy. ^_^*
Ryouga from Ranma ½ is here, but I'm sure you know who he is...
Catamite - Look it up yourself.
Rei yelling at Cloud - Okay, I hate Cloud. I admit it. Not as much as I used to, but I still hold a strong dislike for him. Why are all the cool characters in that game villains? (Well, except Vincent.)