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Shout Out / Ambience: A Fleet Symphony

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    Call Of Duty 
  • "Your tree-killing skills are remarkable."
  • "What kinna name's Soap anyway?"
  • A subtle one, but the DSR-50 anti-materiel rifle that Damon picks up very early in the story and later gives to Zuikaku to wield in battle is a nod to the DSR-50 featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, right down to its erroenous 5-round magazine capacity, wheras the actual weapon's magazines hold only 3 rounds. Similarly, though perhaps more noticeable, the FN Ballista sniper rifle wielded by Graf Zeppelin is also specifically taken from the same game.
  • The remnants of the Advanced Administration for Holy War are known as the "Inner Circle".
  • Wallcroft is one of the members of the Royalists.
  • Inazuma and Ikazuchi have a synchronized attack called the NA-45 Lightning Strike, which both is named after the NA-45 grenade sniper from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and works similarly like it: Inazuma fires a primer round first, and Ikazuchi then fires the detonator round, and if the detonator round lands near the primer round, they will create an explosion that's as powerful as a battleship-caliber shell.
  • In chapter 70, Damon says the way Yuudachi salutes him makes him feel like General Shepherd.
  • In chapter 87, Damon makes a jab at Sandman when a skyscraper gets dropped on top of him and the fleet.
  • The Izanagi repeating crossbow is based upon the 3-shot pump-action repeating crossbow featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
  • In chapter 98, the opening scene of Sanford's team's infiltration into Tampico, Mexico during Operation Dualsight is a nod towards the opening scene of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's mission "Cliffhanger", as evidenced by Sanford's line of "Break's over, Lauren. Let's go" and his discarding of a candy cigarette.
  • In chapter 105, a certain enemy's survival and escape from Operation Dualsight is due to her having a Glitch Protocol.
  • The Smartsteel plates of Damon's exosuit that armor his right arm can fold off and form an arm-borne microgun called the M214-A5 Scythe.
  • In chapter 147, the opening exposition by Retia Wedekind begins with: "The more things change, the more they stay the same..."
  • Also in chapter 147, according to an old email Sanford finds, there existed the Wunderwaffe Helix division of the F.L.E.E.T. Project.
  • When Sanford and the Shiratsuyu-Class visit the nuked Cologne during the Germany campaign, Sanford mentions, "One million people used to live here. Now it's a ghost town..."
  • Chapter 188's title is a reference to one of the final missions in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, called "No Fighting In the War Room".
  • In chapter 197, a certain Madness Mantra comes from Corvus's speech.
  • Power... it really does change everything, doesn't it.
  • The HAVOC orbital laser satellite is based on the XS-1 Vulcan scorestreak.
  • The general boost mechanics of ship girls are based on those seen in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, but the presence of boost meters and the fact that Damon's exosuit allows him to run on walls hearken to Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
  • Damon's exosuit itself is a big nod to those seen in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, with the added ability to run on walls seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
  • Taihou's handheld crossbow pistol, the "Kage no Tsume", and is based off and even named after the NX Shadowclaw from Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
  • The unnerving memorial that Damon has built for his fallen comrades in Baltimore have mementos that mention TF-141 and Op. Kingfish.
  • At the end of the chapter 206, President Blackwood betrays Damon and his fleet in a manner very closely following how General Shepherd betrays Task Force 141.
  • One of Suzukaze's attacks has her form two black spikes in her hands called Gravity Spikes. When she creates them for the first time in her fight against Samidare, she even says: "Time to ruin shit."
  • Chapter 229: "Remember, no English."
  • "You're talkin' to a guy who lost an entire fuckin' fleet 'a ship girls while the world just fuckin' watched."
  • Admiral Kevinson, in this story, operates under the handle "Sandman", and his callsign was originally "Metal 0-1".
  • In chapter 235, when Iowa tells Damon what she and the other American ship girls have been up to, she mentions a war between the United States and a federation of South American countries that broke out soon after the end of the nuclear Third World War, called the Federation War.
  • In chapter 236, due to an unintentional sharing of unit names between Sanford's Seal Team Six and the American ship girls' Seal Team Six, the group decides to simply call themselves Black Ops.
  • In chapter 243, Damon insists that his name isn't Ramirez.
  • MacMillan, Price and MacTavish are mentioned as members of MI6 before the war.
  • At the end of chapter 248, Sanford adapts Price's "The Healthy Human Mind" speech.
  • At the end of chapter 249, when Damon confronts Blackwood, the latter begins dropping lines from General Shepherd's opening speech in Modern Warfare 2.
    • Right after Blackwood finishes this speech, just before he begins to fight him, Damon finishes Sanford's speech in the previous chapter with Price's later "This Is For The Record" speech.
  • In chapter 250, Damon tells Blackwood: "We can do this all day, I've got plenty 'a bullets!"
    • after Blackwood fatally wounds Damon with his own karambit knife, he gives him a modified speech that mimics General Shepherd's at the conclusion of Modern Warfare 2 - complete with Iowa/Iris saving Damon and battling Blackwood just like Price and Shepherd fight, and Damon finally concluding it by pulling out his own knife from his chest and killing Blackwood with it by throwing the knife at his eye.
  • "Oi, Suzy!" comes up in chapter 265.
  • In chapter 267, Kagerou gains, as a result of her interaction with Damon's YRC, a power that's suspiciously similar to the Heat Wave specialist ability featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Considering the meaning of her name, this should come as no surprise.
  • In chapter 271, Imuya reveals that her power weapon is the MORS railgun sniper rifle from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
  • In chapter 285, according to the fleet equipment list, New Jersey's SPAS-12 is called the "S-Ravage", the SPAS-12 shotgun featured as a Classic Weapon in Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare, which in turn is a reference to Sandy Ravage, a well-known Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Youtuber.
  • In chapter 292, Damon confronts Sanford in the same manner as Captain Price confronts Yuri about Makarov.
  • In chapter 295, Colonel Fodemski's lieutenants are Lieutenant Foley and Lieutenant Vasquez. The sergeant who leads the fleet to meet with the Colonel is also named Ramirez. The chapter title, too, is one: "Rangers Lead The Way".
  • In chapter 297, Saratoga's modernized M-2029 Thompson sports the words "Alcatraz Armories", suggesting that it's a one to the M-1927 Thompson SMG that's buyable as a wall weapon in the Mob of the Dead zombies map in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. And when she loads her weapon for the first time, the M-2029 activates its built-in sights, an ELO sight from Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
  • "Sanford, Big, and the Decalogue...all of you must die."
  • in chapter 334, Yorktown uses the Sparrow Composite Bow as her plane-launching medium.
  • In chapter 345, Asashimo gains an ability that allows her to blast off bursts of frosty and icy energy called the Winter's Howl through Damon's YRC.
  • in chapter 346, Murakumo enters Damon's dreamworld and finds herself on the surface of Europa, the setting of the first mission of Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare.
  • chapter 360 starts out with pre-narration mission briefing dialogue that closely resembles that of Mission 4 of Call of Duty: Black Ops, with the chapter name also sharing the one used by the actual mission itself.
  • During Operation Goldmine, the callsigns of the Harrier units supporting the Combined Fleet go by "Deadly", and one of the lines in chapter 369 is highly reminiscent of the dialogue from the helicopter of the same callsign in Call of Duty 4.
    • also during Operation Goldmine, the blue gas canisters they capture that are responsible for damaging Kongou's squadron in chapter 378 are apparently called "Nova Gas".
  • in chapter 383, one of the lieutenants on board the U.S.S. George Washington is named Mason.
    Eiyuu Senki The World Conquest 
  • In chapter 162, the last attack that Javelin uses before her imminent capture by the Abyssals is called Clarent.
  • In chapter 164, when the Royal Navy girls show up to assist the Combined Fleet in Germany, one of the attacks used by the British is called Rhongomiant.
  • In chapter 167, during the final engagement against the Abyssals in Germany, HMS Jackal uses an ability called Prydwen.
  • In chapter 194, Shimakaze uses a special attack that she's been practicing called Chiron Step.
  • During the Baltimore arc, some of the enemies that show up have descriptions that are somewhat similar to the black ghosts who fight you in the Dark Realm.
  • Damon's Yellow Reality Cancel activation comes in the form of Chihaya's Tsumugari no Tachi attack to give him a second wind against Blackwood.
  • !Samidare has two sword attacks that are called Suzukaze Zantetsuken and Samidare Gaeshi.
    Fallout 
  • Fallout 3 gets mentioned in chapter 9.
  • Chapter 122: "That's our Megaton, as the young'uns like ta call it, and that's why it's always so fuckin' sunny in Philadelphia."
  • In chapter 143, the effects of the Colossus Reactor on humans, healing the targets first before harming them afterwards, is similar to that of Super Stimpacks.
  • In chapter 173, Losira says that the world before the war was an "okay place to live".
  • In chapter 208, Damon is singing along with a radio that's playing Uranium Fever.
  • In chapter 231, a guard from the Savannah survivor camp asks Aoba if her name is Piper.
  • Asashimo says "War never changes" in chapter 328.

    Guilty Gear 
  • Shigure's protocol is called "Guilt Protocol".
    • As a result of her interaction with Damon's YRC, Shigure now uses many of Sol Badguy's moves, as demonstrated in chapter 268 against Yuudachi, modified to fit her protocol. Among those she uses are Blood Flame (Gun Flame), Wild Throw, and Riot Stomp.
      • Perhaps a case of Foreshadowing - if you look in her entry on the stat sheet in chapter 169, her theme song is listed as "Give Me A Break", Sol Badguy's theme in Guilty Gear Xrd.
  • Suzukaze utters the words "Hell Install" during her fight with Samidare. Guess what Samidare says in return: "Heaven Install".
  • And right after her Heaven Install, Samidare uses an attack called "Six Black Heavens' Guns".
  • It's a bit of a stretch, but the spiked halos that Suzukaze and Samidare both develop briefly at Houston are not unlike the one that Jack-O has.
  • Yorktown tells Damon after learning of his motives to fight to get his fleet back that "revenge always leads to disappointment, so I can't really say I recommend it."
  • When Xenolith is finally given a proper description in chapter 238, he's described to be wearing lots of belts around his upper body from the torso up, a nod towards the character designs of Guilty Gear that predominantly feature a whole hell of a lot of belts.
  • "Heaven or hell...let's rock, motherfucker!"
  • In the above-mentioned spar with Shigure, Yuudachi also breaks out one of Jack-O's moves, her air-command grab called Elysion Driver. Her main power that she's gained from Damon's YRC, however, is called "Deja Vu", one of Bedman's main special moves in Guilty Gear Xrd.
    • Also another possible case of Foreshadowing, as one of Yuudachi's listed themes in her entry in the stat sheet is "Does the Sheep Count Sheep", Bedman's theme in Xrd.
  • In chapter 262, Satsuki with the help of Damon's YRC gains a hilt-less katana whose scabbard and handle are made of wood, not unlike the one wielded by Johnny.
  • In chapter 276, Ayanami is revealed to have prehensile hair, just like Millia Rage.
    • Yet another possible case of Foreshadowing, as Ayanami's listed theme in her entry in the stat sheet is "Lily of Steel", Millia's theme in Xrd.
  • In chapter 336, Damon is wearing a shirt that says "REMEMBER YESTERDAY".
  • One of Shigure's attacks that she uses after receiving Damon's YRC contract is called Bloodflame, comparable to Sol's Gunflame.
  • in chapter 382, Sendai reveals the YRC power that she's received from Damon: an energy blade that suspiciously looks a lot like Chipp's armblade.
  • in chapter 409, Yuudachi uses Jack-O's Instant Kill attack which also serves as her catalyst to unlocking her Demon Angel form.
    Killing Floor 

  • In chapter 51, Damon is told that with the amount of money he's spending on new weapons, he might as well be saying "Dosh, grab it while ya can, lads!"
  • In Kongou's fleet log, Kongou is 11 out of 10 disappointed that she wasn't constructed blonde.
  • During the Baltimore arc, some of the bizarre city mutants that spawn to fight the ship girls sent to find and protect Damon are very similar to Gorefasts due to their stake-like arms that they swing to attack, and Damon battles a tall bald man in a surgeon's gown with a chainsaw as a right arm.
  • During the duel between Damon and Blackwood, when Damon manages to wound Blackwood considerably, he retreats to fix himself up while dropping a bunch of monstrosities that are basically scrakes and fleshpounds from Killing Floor 2 on him to occupy him while he goes and heals, very much so like the Patriarch from both games in the series. That said, Blackwood only does this once, as opposed to the two-three times that the Patriarch does this.
  • In chapter 294, Yorktown, after discharging all bullets in her dual-wielded Magnums, is described to reload her revolvers that sounds very similar to the way the Gunslinger in Killing Floor 2 reloads the dual S&W 500 Magnums that are also in the game with the tactical reload perk.
  • In chapter 301, Kongou, true to her nature of dropping Killing Floor insults, calls the Abyssals surrounding her a bunch of bloody Millwall fans. She then proceeds to obliterate them with her Kongou Kokuretsu-Zan attack, and after she's done, she adds, "I could sink you Abyssals all night long."
  • In chapter 361, the ship girls fight against what is essentially a wave of clots, gorefasts, two scrakes, and a fleshpound.
  • "What're they gonna hunt next? Cavemen zombies?"
    Madness Combat 
  • Sanford, Deimos, and the Sheriff all take their names from their respective characters. This goes so far as Sanford assigning himself the callsign "Meathook".
  • In chapter 172, Damon comes across a note that says, "DO WHAT COMES NATURAL".
  • During the fleet's campaign in Germany, Agents show up to join the fight against the ship girls, and when Damon infiltrates the Inner Circle base in Mexico in chapter 174, he encounters an ATP Engineer.
  • According to a certain secret document, the Baltimore incident that Damon mentions a few times is also alternatively referred to as "Incident 111A".
  • Chapter 213 is a Whole-Plot Reference to the events that transpire in Madness Combat 7. The beginning of the chapter starts with the depiction of Damon with half of his head and chest smashed into the ground, random letters and words flashing across Damon's vision, Suzukaze's mutilation of Damon's corpse and subsequent resurrection of said corpse, then is followed by Damon's new outfit that he gets after the resurrection, some of the dialogue exchanged between the two, Damon spending the entire chapter running away from Suzukaze, Damon fighting the big giant suited mutant with an equally giant shotgun with shined shoes who later fires a 20kg super-magnum shotgun shell at him, Suzukaze finally chasing Damon down and beating him to an inch of his (resurrected) life, and finally !Samidare swooping in to kill-steal her by stabbing and then shooting Damon...hell, even the title of chapter 212 is called "Consternation". Just how much of that episode did the author crib, anyway?
  • In chapter 273, Tricky, Auditor and Savior get mentioned as (late?) members of the Advanced Administration for Holy War.
  • in chapter 350, inside the simulation, the infamous sign from Madness Combat 6 appears. Surprisingly, some people actually listen to it this time.
  • In chapter 360, the zombies that the Savior creates from dead human bodies make their appearance.
  • In chapter 376, Sanford discovers a directory of audio files stored in an old missile base data server that are all named "romp.fla".
  • In chapter 377, A.T.P. soldats first make their appearance.
    Music 

Many of the story chapter titles themselves are song titles or refer to songs, frequently video game original soundtracks. Song lyrics are also mentioned in some of the chapters themselves.

    Mythology Gags and other KanColle fan works 
  • During Operation London. The appearance of the Orion-class dreadnought girls are based on siirakannu's original art for them. The appearances for some of the other Royal Navy ship girls (eg.HMS Javelin, Glowworm, and Jackal, to name a few) are based on their counterparts from Warship Girls.
    • in chapter 282, Retia is seen reading a paper with some Chinese writing on it, with a profile photo of Bismarck from Warship Girls.
    • as of chapter 346, the Russian ship girls featured in Warship Girls appear, taking part in a coup to put a teenage girl in power.
  • American ship girls are revealed to be active in the story as of chapter 219. Later chapters reveal that there are currently four American ship girls active, and they are all based on jeanex's designs from Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls: Iowa, Wisconsin, Enterprise, and Yorktown.
  • In chapter 99, Shigure backhands an enemy shell, the Signature Move of gouta (nagishiro6624)'s depiction of Shigure. This is reaffirmed as a reference to gouta shortly afterwards when she uses "Too bad for you" as a Bond One-Liner, which is the Catchphrase of gouta!Shigure.
  • In chapter 181, Damon thinks it would end in blood if the girls dogpiling him turned into their ship forms. Naganami also shows up so sleepy that she's forgotten her blouse.
  • In chapter 200, when Ushio becomes a vessel for Losira to exist in the real world, she is loosely based on this image. Be warned, link is NSFW!
  • As a reader pointed out, Samidare's and Suzukaze's appearances have been changed briefly during their fight at Houston to give them hair flaps.
  • In a reference to this story's alternate universe, the American ship girls reveal that navitasium energy, the energy that powers several of the ship girls' attacks, abilities, and protocols, is actually refined and purified Abyssal energy called "serenity".
    • the link with the alternate universe goes further: in chapter 357, Yukari, in her video addressing the second-gen Shiratsuyu-Class, mentions that Seal Team Six and the JMSDF initially discovered the Abyssals in a top-secret naval zone somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, also called 'Sector B', which is simultaneously a reference to the AI-controlled island in DayZ Origins.
  • Asashimo first appearing in chapter 257 dressed like an Assassin, including having a Hidden Blade, appears to be a nod to this picture.
  • There's a chance that Maru-yu as depicted in the story is a nod to gaiko kujin's Maru-yu-san.
    • confirmed in chapter 271, when Maru-yu gets a cigar and starts smoking it.
  • In chapter 270, the beginning Twitter-like text conversation held by the submarines is one to yua (checkmate)'s "Fleet Journal".
  • In chapter 283, both the Akatsuki-Class and the Mutsuki-Class are seen forming human towers for the funny group pic that Aoba takes at the end of the chapter.
  • In chapter 284, Eagle gives Damon a virtual reality training simulator program titled A.L.M.A., first introduced in Ambience: Evaporated Summer chapter 27.
  • Haida's design is, with a few minor clothing modifications to fit the story, taken from myuto (advent retribution)'s HMCS Haida design.
  • Johnston's design is also taken from u-tan (timerush90)'s USS Johnston design.
  • New Jersey's design is a fusion of both jeanex's USS New Jersey design from Pacific, with the blue fingerless elbow gloves, signs of drill hair, and the black and gold fan (the narration also gives a reference to the Miss USA pageant design that the Pacific New Jersey upholds), and the design of New Jersey from the Kantai Collection fanfic Belated Battleship, with the letterman jacket with the gold letters "NAVY" on its left sleeve, the backwards blue baseball cap, and New Jersey's love of apple pies.
    • Chapter 314 goes even further with the link to Belated Battleships. The fleet is in need of better AA capable of taking down armored helicopters. The carrier Enterprise has battleship New Jersey ''carry'' the Kagerou-class destroyers, thus granting them a mobile artillery platform with 12.7cm guns that can easily swat choppers dead, all without the hassle of a kai remodel.
  • If you've read Ambience: Platoon (Moebius Four), recall that Akebono, with her Kai remodel, gains a special augmentation called "Slayer" that allows her to fight bigger ship types with exponentially scaling strength. In chapter 301, when Akebono knocks down and mounts a Ri-Class to begin subduing her, the Ri-Class describes Akebono's power as much stronger than a mere destroyer's, because a heavy cruiser such as herself should have easily been able to toss any other destroyer off - not to mention, Akebono manages to tear her torpedo launcher off her arm before killing her.
  • in case any of you were wondering at all, in chapter 316, when Umikaze and Kawakaze show up in their underwear, this is what they look like. Beware, link is NSFW.
  • in chapter 318, Zara and Pola have on disguises for their mission that highly resemble some of the latter's promotional art ingame.
  • in chapter 322, Yuudachi talks about dividing and conquering Damon's body and claims his right arm, while Shigure claims his head.
  • the ending segment of chapter 337 introduces French cruiser Lamotte-Picquet and Italian destroyers Camicia Nera and Espero, whose designs belong to an upcoming free-to-play turn-based game called Victory Belles that is heavily influenced by Kantai Collection.
    • this chapter marks the beginning of the introduction of ship girls from Victory Belles, as more Italian, French, British, and Japanese ship girls as depicted there are brought into the story.
  • in chapter 345, Hatsuyuki references Shirayuki's abnormal obsession with munition shells in the 4koma.
  • in chapter 346, the Shiratsuyu-Class show up having flip-flopped their uniforms and hairstyles to mimic another sister. For example, Shiratsuyu shows up wearing Yamakaze's uniform and hairstyle.
  • in chapter 349, Samidare changes her uniform's color scheme to look something like this.
  • in chapter 353, Akatsuki calls her mobile satellite "Kitsuaka-chan".
  • in chapter 364, when Shigure wakes up to find her eye marred with bloody streaks, it looks a little something like this.
    • And at the end of chapter 372, with Shigure's protocol taking her over, one of the Abyssals who is unfortunate enough to face her calls her a "fiend".
  • in chapter 369, after executing an Abyssal, Nisei Kumano speaks a slightly modified line from the Victory Belles Actress Reel video.
  • Furutaka's English nickname of "Furry-Taco" shows up in chapter 373.
  • Suzukaze's and Murakumo's friendship, best demonstrated in chapter 405, is a reference to "Admiral Uzatto's Captain's Log" by Uzaki (jiro).

    Nasuverse 
  • In chapter 20, the attack Amatsukaze uses to "defeat" Shimakaze is a reference to Tohno Akiha's melee Arc Drive from Melty Blood.
  • During the Baltimore arc, when Losira shows up and assumes shared control of Ushio's body, she mentions and briefly discusses the existence of reality marbles when speaking with the light cruisers.
  • During the fight between Suzukaze and Samidare at Houston, the two sisters oftentimes attack one another using small missiles made of their respective protocols' energies, not unlike the manner in which Yuudachi in the Kantai Collection game uses her own torpedoes, and Suzukaze's are called Black Keys, while Samidare's are called, not surprisingly, Blue Keys.
    • In chapter 241, Losira says that Hank had "Mystic something something something" eyes that let him kill anything, even things that weren't alive.
    • In chapter 262, Kikuzuki via Damon's YRC gains a hilt-less pocket knife that has etched into the base of the blade the kanji 九夜, or "Nine Nights".
  • In chapter 262, in an attempt to be flashy and grandiose while summoning her elemental sword granted to her by Damon's YRC, Murakumo utters a small part of the opening of Archer's Unlimited Blade Works chant, but she does put a unique twist on it.
    Murakumo: "I am the bone of my sword! Steel is my body, fire is my blood, and water is my life! Come forth, Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi!"
  • in chapter 334, Red Samidare uses Aozaki Aoko's Another Arc super featured in the Melty Blood games.
  • In chapter 361, Kawakaze is able to use Akiha's Suigetsu wo Ugatsu flame hearth attack from Melty Blood when she draws on the power she got from Damon.
  • Chapter 396 is full of Nasuverse references. The Pope himself is part of the Burial Agency, whose members are called Executioners, and he wields the Black Keys as weapons. The holy symbol/crest that he and the Italian ship girls now have as part of the Burial Agency closely resembles Ciel's holy winged cross symbol that shows up in Tsukihime and Melty Blood, and the Pope himself basically wears a very similar outfit to Kotomine Kirei, with a few modifications to make him look more like a real-life Catholic priest residing in the Vatican. Even some of the lines that are spoken during the initiation ceremony harken back to the summoning ritual chants the Masters use to perform their rituals when first summoning their Servants for the Holy Grail War, like Rin's or Kiritsugu's.
  • in chapter 401, Hatsuyuki's light orbs form a wall behind her that fire off projectiles of light, not unlike Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
  • in chapter 402, Umikaze develops the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, the same ones that Damon's uncle Hank had, due to her physical contact with Hank's knife that acts as a catalyst.
  • in chapter 404, Losira calls the evil version of Samidare "Samidare Alter".
  • in chapter 407, Mutsuki, who also partially develops the same Mystic Eyes by also coming into contact with Umikaze while Umikaze's Eyes are active, awakens this power on accident when sparring with Ayanami, though it would appear that the effects of her eyes are slightly different than what the Mystic Eyes are known to do.
  • in chapter 411, Amatsukaze uses a flaming whip as one her attacks that ends up looking like Altera's extra attack animation.
  • in chapter 415, Jeannie's attacks resemble those of Vlad III's, and one of them is also called "Kazikli Bey".

    Starcraft 
  • The title of chapter 11 makes a reference to the Terran Vulture and its researchable ability to plant spider mines.
  • Battleships and battlecruisers can use the Yamato Cannon.
  • All of the submarine girls presently active have the ability to Cloak due to their special swimsuits like Ghosts, including U-511, whose suit allows her to do the same. Even their eyes display the Cloaking gears of Ghosts that face inwards when Decloaked and outwards when Cloaked.
  • Two of the US President's top advisers are Admirals Stukov and DuGalle.
  • In chapter 64, Amagi speculates that the likely result of two Yamato Cannons hitting the same place is "terrible, terrible damage."
  • The XV-29 Banshee manufactured by Lukenstor is a tilt-rotor Stealth Attack helicopter with Cloaking capabilities and 55mm anti-personnel rocket pods.
  • In chapter 133, Suzukaze receives the Colossus Reactor augmentation from USS New Jersey.
  • In chapter 142, we get this little gem from U-511: "Did somebody call for an exterminator...?"note 
  • The Metal Slug has the ability to enter Siege Mode to transform its main gun into a truly long-range bombardment cannon. It even has support legs that emerge to keep it stable on the ground while it's firing in this mode.
  • Shioi gains a psionic energy blade akin to those used by Protoss Dark Templars.
  • Saratoga states that the augmentation that she's come with is called the Nuclear Fusion Core.
  • "Thank you for turning off all smart phones, gauss rifles, EMP's, psionic waveform emitters, and plasma-based perdition flamethrowers. We hope you had a great flight."
  • In chapter 335, the fleet gets attacked by Abyssal reinforcements who arrive via giant lindworms, which Iowa calls Nydus Worms.
  • In chapter 346, Sanford quips, "Insufficient vespene gas."
  • In chapter 361, at the start of the chapter, Kawakaze goes "Fired up!", a quote from the Terran unit, the Firebat.
    Street Fighter 

    Others 
  • A story set in a post-apocalyptic world with explicit mentions to things like medical boxes full of bandages, syringes, blood bags, painkillers, etc. and vehicles like Urals that are halfway around the world for some reason. Sounds familiar...but where are the zombies?
    • The Kagerou-Class destroyers, namely Kagerou, Shiranui, and Kuroshio, use the MK-16 SCAR-L weapon variants seen in DayZ Origins and other mods for much of the story as their primary infantry weapons.
    • In chapter 148, some old warehouse records list some oddly written items like "SA-58P_EP1" and "vil_SVD_P21".
    • During the attack on Chicago City Hall, Aoba uses a MK-17 EGLM RCO.
  • The spring-loaded hacking blade found in the handle of Damon's karambit knife has its hacking functionality and method of use based on the data knife from Titanfall.
  • In chapter 12, Chad becomes "beside himself with the wrath of three hundred Spartans" and kicks off a roof the three mooks who raped his girlfriend.
  • In chapter 17, Khal likens Damon's search for the ship girls to "an apocalyptic game of Pokémon".
  • In chapter 24, there is talk of boxes of chocolate and a "downie marathon runner".
  • In chapter 27, Damon "pulls a Bane impression. 'I was born in it, raised in it, molded by it.'"
    • In chapter 119, Tatsuta says that guns are too quick, because "She can't savor all the... little emotions."
    • "It's not about the reputation. It's about sending a message."
  • In chapter 33, Murakumo calls the ship girl command protocol "Admiralty Code".
    • In chapter 123, Shioi recalls one of the scrapped designs for her body, which matches the anime design of Iona.
    • In chapter 288, Shioi also discovers that with the power from a navitasium cube, her Psionic Blade turns from green to a shade of steel blue, and she gains a Klein Field in the form of a bubble shield.
    • Kongou demonstrates her power to perform instant body transmissions, reminiscent of the other Kongou's ability to deconstruct and reconstruct herself wherever nanomaterial is readily available, but Kongou performs hers with fireballs. She also discovers that when she combines her YRC power with energy from her navitasium cube, it turns her Sword of Seals into the Icicle Sword.
  • In chapter 38, Damon namedrops Vaas.
  • In chapter 49, Sanford likens resurrecting Yuudachi without proper facilities to doing a No-Damage Run on Contra.
  • "Does that irk you, my lady? C'mon, then, you can't slap! How can she slap?"
  • In chapter 52, one of the mooks is named Deckard.
  • In chapter 55, Kongou says that "my little imouto can't be this cute".
  • "Nobody expects the Japanese Inquisition!"
    • The British fleet performs an impromptu rendition of Monty Python's Spam skit in chapter 260, much to Damon's and Ushio's amusement and much to Akebono's great chagrin and annoyance.
    • "Nobody expects the Canadian Inquisition, eh!"
    • In chapter 302, when Akagi points out that Kaga's arm is bleeding heavily, Kaga simply replies, "a mere flesh wound", to which Akagi responds, "you can't bleed on the enemy!"
  • In chapter 69, Damon asks, "Are we the fuckin' COG all of a sudden now or what?"
    • In chapter 302, Kaga uses her Abyssal energy bow to perform the Torque Bow execution on an incapacitated Ru-Class.
  • For the distraction at Charlotte, Sanford suggests the ship girls involved pretend to be members of the Soprano family.
  • Damon's preferred firearm, his MK-14, has a Doppler paintjob, and his karambit sports a Fade finish as well.
    • Samidare's Brightwater Protocol and Suzukaze's Darkwater Protocol share names with gun skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Because of this, they set a Theme Naming precedent for their other sisters, Umikaze and Kawakaze, who also have protocols that are similarly named.
    • Chapter 18 makes a reference to the amount of time that it takes to defuse a planted bomb without a defuse kit - which takes 10 seconds.
    • When Damon and co. receive intel that the controller of Charlotte has strapped a bomb collar onto one of her captured ship girls, we get this little gem.
    Damon: Bomb defuser, don't be a loser, buy a defuser!
    • in chapter 346, Sanford devises a list of ship girls who are most qualified to receive a Kai remodel by calculating their battle effectiveness and creating a cumulative statistic called "Average Damage per Battle", or ADB, which he says is taken from the Counterstrike term ADR, or "Average Damage per Round".
  • Metal Gear:
    • In chapter 76, Damon tells Sanford to "stop pullin' a frickin' Old Snake".
    • Hatsuyuki's head developer was an unabashed otaku called Otacon.
    • "Nanomachines, Mr. Polchow."
  • In chapter 80, Sanford says that he's "got ninety-nine problems, but bein' a bitch ain't one".
  • In chapter 81, Damon wonders if he'll start having to say "people die when they're killed".
  • In chapter 82, Damon says that if Takao doesn't want to use his name, she can just call him November Man.
  • In chapter 83, Suzukaze points at Damon "like a certain spiky-haired ace attorney".
  • In chapter 86, Sanford asks Damon if he's going to "get on with your retarded lil' Sam Fisher mission".
    • In chapter 249, the Black Ops team assaults Whiskey Hotel, and the human team members (minus Damon) are seen deploying with triple-eye night-vision goggles.
    • And again in chapter 292, Sanford makes another explicit mention of the game when he says, "Too bad they didn't end up calling us Splinter Cells too."
  • "I've covered wars, y'know."
  • "It's twenty kilometers to Nashville; we've got four beat-up shit-for-cars, too many guns, and this motherfuckin' rain, so let's hit it!"
  • In chapter 92, Damon likens his cousin Jeannie when she comes to rescue him from the Harpers and their men at Nashville to Chaika.
  • Chapter 95 mentions No Game No Life by name.
  • "Stupid dog! You make me look bad!"
  • At the bottom of the ocean, no one can hear you scream...
  • In chapter 118, Satsuki likens her anthromorphicisation to an anime plot "like a certain Japanese boy becoming a familiar".
  • In chapter 66, Damon nearly calls Naka Nagisa on the account of her ahoge.
    • In chapter 121, Miyuki sings the opening lines to "The Big Dango Family" as she completely loses the will to live after her brother, Tatsuya, expired from gun shot wounds, and resigns herself to being torched alive in their shack by Tatsuya's killers.
    • Whenever Damon dies and reawakens briefly in his dreamworld, he finds himself in a field of grass with light orbs rising all around. And Losira is dressed in a pure white sundress...
  • In chapter 135, Hatsuyuki wonders why she couldn't have gotten a more normal name like Kaguya or Umaru.
    • In chapter 292, Okazaki Yumemi and Yakumo Yukari are explicitly mentioned as having a hand in the Moebius Four sub-project.
    • in chapter 401, Hatsuyuki demonstrates her YRC power, which suspiciously looks like the orbs from Kaguya's Jeweled Branch of Hourai.
  • They ain't gonna sink this Battleship, no way.
  • In chapter 141, an inhabitant of Savannah who remembers Damon and Murakumo but not Sanford wonders if the former had been in a hyperbolic time chamber.
  • General Morden gets mentioned in chapter 143.
    • Chapter 152 reveals that the mysterious thing Deimos was working on was one of the eponymous mini-tanks.
    • Damon's exosuit allows him to use the Vulcan Punch.
    • in chapter 353, Akatsuki deploys her mobile satellite, and it attacks in a similar manner to the mobile satellite seen in the Metal Slug series.
  • In chapter 147, when asked about Shigure and Yuudachi's post-remodel ability to use their ship guns on land, Sanford's responding jab is that this is proof that German engineering is, in fact, not the best in the world.
  • In chapter 149, Sanford calls the suit-clad Inner Circle mooks they were fighting Agents.
  • In chapter 153, Conqueror says "Drive me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"
  • In chapter 155, an enemy asks, "Do you wanna play a game?"
  • Also in chapter 155, Yuudachi drags an enemy along the ground in a way very similar to what Seras did to Zorin.
    • in chapter 396, many references to Hellsing show up - during the Italian ship girls' initiation ceremony to become admitted into the Burial Agency, the Pope speaks a few lines taken directly from Andersen, and the Pope also mentions the existence of the Royal Order of Protestant Knights.
  • In chapter 172, after receiving a note from a mysterious person named L, Damon remarks, "So does this make me Kira?"
  • In chapter 185, a character comments that she knows now... why humans cry.
    • In chapter 239, Damon and co. find his coffin at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery to actually be filled with weapons. He also gets called a T-800.
    • in chapter 372, when Shigure begins to transform into her own demon angel form, her eyes are described to posses tiny red dots in their centers that shine like the eyes of the Terminator.
  • Quite a few characters are either Expies or Captain Ersatzes of characters from Daiteikoku:
    • Eagle Douglas is Eagle Clinton, and the members of the Green Grass Society are all characters taken from the Gamerican commanders - funnily enough, with several of them being actual members of the families that their Daiteikoku renditions were meant to parody in the story.
    • Retia Adolf is Retia Wedekind.
    • Many of Retia's top military commanders, like Rommel, Manstein, Doenitz, and even her late mother Grecia correspond to the German commanders in the game.
    • Sarah, Mary, and Eliza Britten are Sarah, Mary, and Eliza Britain.
    • Charlotte Partheney is Charlotte Partheney...except she's Commandant Teste in disguise.
    • Mussolini Venice is Venice Santini. She's even got a pet piglet.
    • Katherine is Katherine Kovalevsky.
    • Katherine's entire cabinet of government ministers are ones to characters from Daiteikoku as well.
    • in chapter 400, Yuubari creates an AI software that she names after herself, and the narration's description of the AI's digital appearance matches that of Yuubari in Daiteikoku.
  • "Fleet is now mobilizing, please wait warmly..."
    • In chapter 238, Aoba calls herself the "Pure and Honest Heavy Cruiser Aoba".
    • Also in chapter 239, in response to Ooi's threats, Aoba simply goes, "Oooh, scary, scary~"
  • In chapter 210, Damon says, "My name is Damon Polchow, and I sell sniper rifles and sniper rifle accessories!"
  • "Oh, it's high noon, alright."
    • Almost expectedly, in chapter 238, Yorktown's callsign is Deadeye.
    • after using a certain special ability, Yorktown remarks, "Like shootin' fish in a barrel, that was."
  • In chapter 311, we get this from Yorktown: "Justice ain't gonna dispense itself."
  • In chapter 231, after Damon punches out a mouthy guard, a comrade remarks that if he wants to do that, he should shave his head and put on a yellow jumpsuit, cape and red gloves.
    • In chapter 391, Saitama's workout regimen is given a passing mention.
  • In chapter 234, Yorktown gives two at once: "And I'm the girlie with no name" and "Hope you make our day, Admiral."
  • Losira's Hellflower ability takes its name from one of the opening themes to the Higurashi: When They Cry anime, Naraku no Hana, which is also the title of this story's Stealth Sequel.
  • One of Damon's .80cal revolvers is named Dæmonbane.
  • "My name ain't TJ Combo," Damon Polchow laughs, "but I am so fucking back!"
    • !Samidare's dialogue as she busts out her reality marble is very reminiscent of the Arbiter's trailer dialogue for Season 3.
    • "Sorry, but I'm crashin' this party!"
  • This has been brought up earlier in the page, but !Samidare and Admiral Kevinson are akin to Lady Maria and Gehrman. !Samidare even wears clothing that would fit right into the setting of Bloodborne, and during her battle against the eight Shiratsuyu-Class at Houston, some of her attacks are direct nods to Lady Maria's moves.
    • Kevinson's dreamworld is a huge nod to the Hunter's Dream. A man in a wheelchair, a field of flowers, and the "little ones"...
    • Just like !Samidare's official introduction into the story, Sandman's official introduction follows the same vein, a near-perfect mirror of the introduction of Gehrman in the final battle against him in the Hunter's Dream.
  • It's in the chapter title: Rip and Tear.
    • Also in chapter 238, Kawakaze declares, "...if they're bigger enemies, that means they've got bigger guts. I wanna see what they look like."
  • Augmentations are present in the story as additional passive powers that are usable by the ship girls if they have them loaded in their main processing units. So far, only three have been mentioned: the Automated Reloader, Reverse Ion Field, and Suzukaze's unique Colossus Reactor.
    • Lukenstor also develops flak cannons in the form of the Flak Mk. I Module and the Flak Mk. II Module for anti-Abyssal destroyer and anti-air duties, which many of the members of the fleet now have as part of their equipment with the fleet equipment overhaul in chapters 285-286.
  • Dirty Bomb:
    • In chapter 125, when Suzukaze is taken to Philadelphia to be fed, Barry says, "Don't let'cher stomach go hungry! Feed it, feeeeeeeeeeed it!"
    • In chapter 236, Damon says: "Fight, fight, fight, work, work, work. That's all I do."
    • "Sir, in the morning, you'll still be a horrendous Harridan, and I'll be drunk."
    • "That's some strong coffee, doc."
    • "I thought I saw my mom. But she's dead, so that makes no sense. Anyway, back to killing - "
    • "Oh God...there's caffeine in that stuff, right? Glucose, whiskey, candy?"
    • in chapter 303, just before HAVOC fires its Vulcan cannon, faint red lines are seen converging into the red dot that served as its aiming reticle, just like Kira's Orbital Laser.
    • in chapter 372, the ship girls encounter Chief of Army Tyler Wittiker, who is an Expy of Redeye.
    • in chapter 384, Jeannie finds a device that's described to look like Vassili's heartbeat sensor.
    • in chapter 393, American destroyer Heywood L. Edwards uses a Winchester Model 1887 and sticky bombs as part of her arsenal.
  • Jeannie's alternate name is Vatista. Furthermore, in chapter 99, when she attacks a group of Abyssal heavy cruisers, she dispatches of one with a backflip uppercut kick.
    • Sandman's scythe has two names: one of them is the Burial At Sea, but the other one that's stamped on the handle is "Devourer".
    • Warspite borrows a few moves from Orie, such as her Sacred Arrow dragon punch and her Divine Thrust attack. Even the way she falls back down is exactly like Orie's falling animation after executing her Sacred Arrow.
    • in chapter 415, Jeannie has wings burst out of her back, beginning to more physically resemble Vatista herself.
  • When Damon meets Ooi at Raleigh, she tells him that the community of ex-slaves whom Damon had helped free from Mercer are now calling themselves the Afterlife Battlefront.
  • In chapter 195, when Kaga faces off against the Re-Class, she fights by firing arrows at a very rapid pace at close range, reminiscent of the speed-archery feats performed by Lars Andersen.
  • In chapter 237, Sanford explains that Chicago is on a centralized operating system called ctOS, and that it's supposed to be ridiculously easy to hack into.
  • Also in chapter 237, Sanford mentions the bad stuff that happens when you try fighting the Great Cthulhu and fail running away.
  • Suzukaze tells Damon this: "Your evisceration was imminent."note 
    • during the assault on Whiskey Hotel in chapter 249, Warspite uses Marth's Tipper mechanic from Super Smash Brothers Melee.
    • Also in chapter 271, Amatsukaze gains Fox's Illusion from Super Smash Brothers Melee.
    • In chapter 301, Warspite uses Marth's neutral aerial attack.
    • in chapter 329, Iris, Saratoga, New Jersey, Yorktown, and Enterprise declare themselves part of "Team Beer" to proclaim their great love of beer, which is taken from a Melee meme of the same name that originated at an event called Summit 3 from a crew of four professional Melee players Mango, PewPewU, S2J, and Mafia. Team Beer is all about having fun and having a good time with friends and fucking shit up, which perhaps very accurately describes the American ship girls in a nutshell.
  • Also during the Baltimore arc, Losira is revealed to be able to spawn and control her own ghost-like minions to do her bidding, and when Damon is somehow plunged back into his own dreamworld in chapter 206, those same minions begin attacking him, followed by a thin and emaciated young woman approaching him...
  • In chapter 99, Jeannie snaps her fingers next to a drunk guard's ear, creating enough energy to stop all of his brain activity and killing him.
  • Also in chapter 99, Jeannie demonstrates the power to change vectors "like another certain white-haired, murderous individual borne from a scientific experiment".
  • in chapter 97, Damon's grave gets tampered with by a van full of mysterious masked men wearing blue doctor gloves and "bizarre, grotesque masquerade masks".
    • In chapter 239, Yorktown claims that their latest mission was "like a stealth run on a big bank or somethin'!"
    • Chapter 240 is titled Razormind.
    • In chapter 301, when the Combined Fleet begins its assault on the Abyssals, this sign shows up:
    [ ! ! ! ! ! / FLEET ASSAULT IN PROGRESS / ! ! ! ! ! ]
    • in chapter 312, Damon says: "Well, shit, if you got a God, better start prayin'!"
  • Several weapons named in the story are references to weapons in the MMOFPS title Combat Arms, with examples being the G36-E and the M-107CQ Airforce.
    • In chapter 294, after shotgunning down four enemies, Iris says, "Ultra kill!"
  • "I'll just say right now, I did not have sexual relations with Ooi."
  • "A'ight, guns up, let's do this! LEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY - " followed almost immediately by, "Suh-prise, muthafuck'a!"
  • Near the end of the Baltimore arc, Damon blacks out while holding a shotgun and regains consciousness to find the downed bodies of his allies all around him.
  • "No, it's Patrick."
  • "Fifty points to Gryffindor!"
  • Blackwood's fighting style, keeping his hands in his pockets and only pulling them out for iaijutsu-like quick strikes, is reminiscent of Takamichi Takahata's.
    • When Zuikaku and Shoukaku begin calling Damon's YRC energy transfers with his ship girls "contracts", Damon likens this label to being a magic teacher who goes around giving his girls pacts.
  • Losira gives a reference to Glaz's operator video featured in Rainbow Six Siege, when she asks Damon what an artist and a sniper have in common.
    • Haida's introduction comes with a package of references to Rainbow Six, specifically to the playable DLC soldier Buck. The backs of her gloves spell JTF-2, Buck's affiliated unit, she comes with her own carbine, a C-8 SFW with an undermounted M-26 MASS, one of Buck's available primary weapons and his signature Skeleton Key, and a Browning Hi-Power pistol that's called the Mk. I 9mm in the game that's also Buck's sidearm. For those who aren't gun nuts, Haida also wears a single earring shaped like the number 6 and carries a war hatchet that's got "BLACK ICE" written along the edge of its blade, the name of the DLC pack that introduced Buck into the game.
    • New Jersey's introduction also comes with a few references, this time to the playable DLC soldier Valkyrie. She comes with a SPAS-12 shotgun with Dragon's Breath shells and a custom black Desert Eagle with a dragon theme, both of which are part of Valkyrie's available weapon set in Rainbow Six: Siege. The dragon themes are also references to New Jersey's Real Life nickname, Black Dragon.
    • The first half of chapter 287 depicts a Search and Destroy mission that plays out on the map Yacht, with several modifications. The chapter title is a reference to the game that the chapter is shouting out.
    • in chapter 346, during the Russian coup in the Kremlin, the Russian ship girls use Fuze's APM-6 Matryoshka Cluster Charges to help them breach and clear the grand palace. In addition, they use many of the weapons in the Russian operators' arsenals as seen in Rainbow Six Siege.
    • in chapter 350, several ship girls undergo a simulated training exercise that somewhat resembles a Hostage match in Siege.
  • In chapter 135 under Shirayuki's Fleet Log, there's one to Ayumu Aikawa from Is This A Zombie?.
  • In chapter 193, when the Ayanami-Class and the Sendai-Class visit Damon's shelter in Baltimore, one of the graffiti scribbles on the wall says: "FUCK YOU EXORCIST".
  • Also in chapter 193, Sazanami is found by Ayanami and Shikinami pushing pencils. She even tells them, "The Admiral's got me pushin' too many pencils."
  • The Stat Sheet on chapter 169 features a stat rating system that's based on the one seen in Sengoku Rance.
  • Also in chapter 249, when the two Warspites are introduced, they both come armed with swords as their primary weapons, and their names are the Falchion and the Parallel Falchion.
    • In chapter 288, Kongou shows off her sword that she's gained from Damon's YRC, and while not explicitly named, given the sword's behavior, it's most likely Roy's Sword of Seals.
  • In Damon's dreamworld, Losira's right eye is covered by a flower.
  • In chapter 254, Damon runs around hoisting Mutsuki up above his head like she's a power-up item and almost breaks the synthetic potted plants that his aunt bought for his residence as decorations.
    Damon: "Then what the hell is the point of potted plants?!"
    • In chapter 298, when Irene and Lauren talk, they briefly allude to the famous meme of "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"
  • The gun store that Damon frequents in New Chicago is called Full Metal Jacket.
    • In chapter 268, Damon quotes "I like you! So come over to my house and fuck my sister!"
  • In chapter 256, Damon tells an adversary that he can refer to Wakaba and Hatsushimo as Gunslingers.
  • Also in chapter 256, as part of his efforts to help improve Wakaba's "cool" image, Damon ponders several aspects of Agent 47 and eventually winds up buying a pair of his signature pistols, the AMT Hardballer Longslides, for her as her personal sidearms.
  • In chapter 260, Damon says, "Can I get some 1G's in the chat" after throwing a molotov he's created with his YRC, a reference to the infamous molotov incident suffered by a Twitch streamer summit1g.
  • Shikinami finally gains a power of her own in chapter 261, and almost expectedly, she gains it in the forms of an AT Field and a double-bladed spear that can be split in half into two swords.
    • in the next chapter, Shikinami's left eye starts glowing blue, just like Asuka's left eye does behind her eyepatch at times.
  • Also in chapter 261, Kawakaze's Firewater Protocol gets upgraded to give her flaming red hair that's covered in flaking burning embers and a pair of wings made of fire that theoretically should allow her to fly. Hell, Kawakaze's pupils even begin to burn visibly and are called "Shakugan", in case the past references weren't clear enough.
    • in chapter 299, Sanford reveals the true nature of the Shiratsuyu-Class' protocols. He and Big studied the Unrestricted Spell method and designed a computer program that mimics the technique, and then made ten of them for each of the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers, each with their own unique theme under which the protocols' powers can operate. Not only does this explain why Shigure, early in the story, had a bad feeling about her own protocol and considered it her inner demon, but it also give more technical details that explain the destroyers' insane protocol potentials.
  • Mutsuki has a two-for-one in chapter 262 thanks to Damon's YRC:
  • Also in chapter 262, Kisaragi through Damon's YRC gains an invisible sword called Yukianesa.
  • In chapter 264, Damon makes one to World of Warships after watching Mutsuki get knocked out from embarrassment after giving her a kiss on the forehead:
    Damon: "Friendly destroyer severely damaged!"
  • Murakumo uses a Super Mode called Cloud Breaker in her spar against Shiratsuyu in chapter 264, one to the titular mech in the mech game Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit.
  • Damon gives Zuikaku a modified "Believe in Yourself" speech from Rocky Balboa in chapter 265.
  • "There was a pillowfiiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!!"
  • "Who the hell am I, Katsuragi Keima?"
  • In chapter 268, when Kuroshio is practicing her skills as given by Damon's YRC, her main ability seems to be "Blackout", one of K`'s special moves in the The King of Fighters series.
    • In chapter 302, Wakamiya reveals that her scepter has the power to ignite itself on fire with flames that look suspiciously similar to Kongou's Burning Love flames, and she twirls her scepter around her head before hitting a Wo-Class with it, all ones to Billy Kane. In addition, Pola performs the latter half of one of Luong's supers on a Chi-Class and snaps her neck.
    • in chapter 361, Inazuma performs Benimaru's Super Inazuma Kick.
    • in chapter 366, Amatsukaze uses Ryo's Shin Tenchi Haou-Ken super move on a Tsu-Class light cruiser.
    • in chapter 368, Shiranui uses Iori's Ura 1018-Shiki Yashiori attack seen in King of Fighters 14.
    • in chapter 372, Shigure uses Takuma's Bolt Upper Neo Max Super, which is renamed "Bad Moon".
    • in chapter 381, Shiratsuyu uses Raiden's Raiden Bomber lariat super - and she even starts it off the same way, by yelling "Number One!"
    • in chapter 382, Amatsukaze uses K`'s Hyper Chain Drive super.
    • in chapter 401, Murakumo is seen practicing Kyo's KOFXIII Ama-no-Murakumo super.
    • in chapter 409, Inazuma uses Benimaru's Benimaru Collider electric command grab, simply renamed "Inazuma Collider".
  • Goya in chapter 271 shows Kagerou her new power: to become completely invisible and undetectable to whomever she wants to be.
  • Also in chapter 271, Iku acquires a new sniper rifle like Imuya, but hers is the Z-750 Binary Rifle from Halo.
    • In chapter 283, Shiratsuyu spars with Suzukaze using a Plasma Energy Sword.
    • Also in chapter 283, Suzukaze spars with Shiratsuyu using a Gravity Hammer. Judging by its name, the story seems to pitch it as the Gravity Hammer from Halo 3 specifically.
  • The rest of the Ayanami-Class get their powers in chapter 272:
  • Losira likens herself to Goku when he's dead, only Damon (and now others through Ushio's transformation) have opportunities to interact with her.
  • During their spar, Satsuki wins it by executing Hibiki's Heavenly Spirit of Victory super from Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium, complete with Hibiki's iconic sheathing of her blade.
  • In chapter 275, Damon finds his battleships...playing Battleship.
  • In chapter 280, through the influence of Damon's YRC, Suzuya is now seen with the scythe of Suzuya Juuzou.
  • In chapter 281, Damon references Super Mario World.
  • Also in chapter 281, Damon eats snowberry-flavored mizu youkan, a Japanese jelly-like dessert, with several destroyers. The meat stew that he makes for the fleet for dinner that night also counts, too, since the story's narration specifically mentions that the stew contains meat, potatoes, and corn, the exact ingredients you need to make meat stew in the game. Along with water, of course.
    • when ship girls fall in combat, assuming that their main processing units are still intact, they have a week before their main processing units decay beyond the point of no return. In other words, they have seven days to die.
  • Chapter 283 is a chapter full of memes and references:
  • In Chapter 291, Shiratsuyu pulls one from A Certain Scientific Railgun when she pulls a bullet casing from her pocket and fires it like Misaka's railgun attack using her "Alpha Protocol", twice. Once through !Samidare's gut, and again through !Samidare's chest just below her shoulder blade.
  • In the same chapter, Murasame yells "Get over here!" when she catches !Samidare mid-dash with her chain and anchor.
  • In chapter 292, !Samidare recreates the Harusame sword from Shaman King to defeat Harusame.
  • In chapter 293, Sanford mentions that while Yamakaze can be reconstructed back to life despite dying from a headshot wound, she'll have to relearn all the basics of a ship girl's skills, meaning she needs to learn how to walk on water and control her ship guns, likening to a human being having to relearn how to read and write after a severe concussion or learning how to walk after a spinal injury. In Darkest Dungeon, there is a rare event that resurrects a fallen adventurer from the dead, but he/she comes back with none of his/her skills and equipment that he/she had at the time of his/her death.
  • in chapter 294, Yorktown uses a special ability called Red Dead Revolvers., and it works suspiciously similarly to something seen in another one of those kinds of games...
    • the train chase and shootout scene almost seems like a battle in the Wild West - only, with modern firearms and ship girls instead of cowboys and lever-actions.
  • The story narration quite frequently makes references to Dungeons & Dragons.
  • The execution kills that the Orion-Class and Erin perform in chapter 301 resemble those seen in For Honor. Notably, Conqueror's resembles the Warden's, where he plunges his sword into an enemy's shoulder and then decapitates them with a pivot swing, and Thunderer's resembles Orochi's, where he guts an enemy with his sword and then decapitates them with a downwards swing.
    • Nisei Kumano's lines that are written in Japanese in chapter 369 are references to Orochi and his lines, and she performs one of Kensei's executions, "Insert New Spine".
  • When Asashimo finally gets to fight in chapter 301, she fights practically just like how an Assassin would fight if he/she were a ship girl, keeping herself hidden with the help of her stealth hood and going for critical sneak attacks with her hidden wristblade that hit the Abyssals' vitals. She even delivers a Pre-Mortem One-Liner that's very Assassins' Creed-esque, albeit in English and rather crude:
    Asashimo: "Rest in peace, bitch."
    • in chapter 302, when the story details the fights of the Italian ship girls, Libeccio, Zara, and Pola are all revealed to have hidden blades - Libeccio has single ones on the heels of her boots, Zara has one underneath each wrist, and Pola has double-hidden blades for both boots, one on the toe and one on the heel. Both Zara and Pola also say "Rest in Peace" in Latin upon scoring kills, customary of Assassins to say after taking down their targets.
  • in chapter 305, Kaga says this to the Aircraft Carrier Demon:
    Kaga: "I refuse. You are already dead".
  • Chapter 312 is titled "Blacklight Retribution".
  • Chapter 313, Kitakami gives Johnston a boost from ground floor to the third floor of a building to clear out enemies. Haida sees this and asks Kitakami to "Beam me up too, Cap'n, eh!"
  • in chapter 314, Kuroshio sits on New Jersey's shoulders and holds her hands forward with her ship cannons, saying, "Let's kill 'em, baby!"
  • "Yeah. My fate of gettin' my head chopped off by a meat cleaver and stuffed into a sports bag by one 'a these girls. It's gonna happen one day, I just know it."
    • "Hey, Damon...nice boat."
  • In chapter 335, Arashio uses Storm's Ice Storm super from Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
  • "If you can dodge a shell, you can dodge a ball!"
  • "Oooh, how nice, she CAN break these cuffs."
  • "And besides, more bacon strips is good; more bacon strips is great. Bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips..."
  • Naganami gains the ability to fire off waves of energy from her arms called the Wave Motion Guns.
  • In chapter 345, both the narration and the chapter title itself make references to Nakai Hisao's cardiac condition.
  • "Now...let's get to business...and defeat ourselves some Huns..."
  • In chapter 360, the narration that goes into Gun Porn detail about the team's firearms and attachments features a few attachments that are apparently produced by Lukenstor, and these attachments have names that oftentimes give references to video games; Lauren's sidearm has an extended magazine called the Rockman, Sanford's assault rifle has an angled foregrip called the BFG-1, and Chuck's designated marksman rifle has a suppressor called the Darkstalker-53.
  • In chapter 361, Kawakaze uses several moves from Geese/Rock Howard's arsenals, albeit with slightly modified names, like the Honou-Reppuken, the Honou-Shippuken, and the Raging Storm.
    • chapter 365's title and premise are all references to Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Now, Samidare's relationship with her mother is somewhat analogous to that between Rock and Geese Howard.
    • in chapter 378, Samidare demonstrates her own usage of the Raging Storm, Shippuuken, and unique to Samidare, the Rasetsu: Shinkuu Nage and Shine Knuckle moves. And being the Expy of Rock Howard, after she uses these moves, she even behaves like Rock does when he wins a round in a fighting game he's in with certain super moves - by grasping her hand as it glows with boiling blue energy.
  • "Fuckin' callin' me Serval 'n everything like I'm just another animal at some damn animal park somewhere and call me frieeeeeeeeeend."
  • in chapter 392, the interrogation that Damon gives Katherine, the Prime Minister of Russia is an Homage to Jules's interrogation of Brett.
  • "I guess they should've sent one, then."
  • "I only know of of Moe who's a grumpy-ass bartender motherfucker with yellow-ass skin, beady-ass eyes, and a big-ass nose, who works in a town called Springfield, if that's what you're asking me."
  • in chapter 411, when he meets Luigi Torelli, Damon makes an obligatory Mario reference.
  • in chapter 412, Murasame gives a whole reference to Akame ga Kill! with her Ichizan Hissatsu Jigoku Murasame attack.
    • the name of chapter 412 is "Wild Dogs", and at the end of the chapter, when Umikaze fatally wounds the Anchorage Demon, the latter summarily blows herself up, whispering "You fools" before she does so.
  • In Chapter 443, the "blueprint" that's used to actually produce ship girls is a cube-shaped device called the Wisdom Cube.

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