Many ongoing gags, or "callbacks", occur in MS Paint Adventures. In addition to internal callbacks in each adventure, the later adventures (particularly Homestuck) sometimes also reference the earlier adventures. On a related note, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff was originally created with the purpose of being referenced in mind, as "the chief source of in-house memes" for Homestuck.

Similar, but typically of a more serious and plot-relevant nature, are recurring themes.

Gags in multiple adventuresEdit

Auto-Parry

At first just a sight-gag in Problem Sleuth as Ace Dick does not so much parry as take the blow full on, it has morphed into a series of terrible puns in Homestuck universe, such as "Auto-Pastry" when John Aggresses his Dad; similarly, Rose "Auto-Perrier" and "Blotto-Parry" when she Aggresses her mother. Dave also later uses "Auto-Harley" against Jack Noir, and Vriska uses "Auto-Pirate" against the same.

"Be the other guy"

A command used to semi-force the story to focus on another character. It was first used in Jailbreak (though not perfectly) and later appeared in Homestuck to make the story shift from Dave's perspective to John's. Also used for other characters. Also used in the Midnight Crew Intermission, where the command never gets the desired result.

Busts

Typically placed in Problem Sleuth, busts are seen obstructing pathways, as Busts-R-Us is a Legitimate Establishment, and are constructed to look like several movie celebrities, most notably Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Snoop Dogg. A combination of busts has also been created: the Bowen Stilson Dogg. This gag made a lampshade appearance in a Homestuck page as Dirk attempts to exit his room.

Colors and units of distance

Black Inches first appeared in Jailbreak, and is referred to multiple times in Homestuck, such as Clubs Deuce's smut magazine (a parody, as it here refers to licorice). Snowman's whip bears the same name, and the most powerful ability of the Queen's Ring, the Red Miles, is also a reference to the magazine. Bec Noir has also used a variant of the Red Miles, presumably called the Green Miles, or at least the Green some unit of distance. Homestuck also features the Yellow Yard, and Dirk's auto-responder has used the phrase "Blue Leagues". Aranea described the serpentine mating forms of adult cherubs as "green aus" (astronomical units).

"First, be the pony. Second, ..."

A command from Jailbreak makes an appearance in Homestuck. It is eventually used successfully.

Flip the Fuck Out

Occasionally a character in Problem Sleuth (or, some instances, in Homestuck) will Flip the Fuck Out. Weasels from Problem Sleuth mainly do this when they get agitated.

"Fondly Regard..."

Since Godhead Pickle Inspector refuses to do anything other than "Fondly regard creation", many commands are given that use a word that sounds very similar to "creation", such as crustacean or cremation. His rule seems a little loose, as GPI does fondly regard some crenellation, although it certainly could be considered part of his creation. The same may apply to his beloved children. In an extra, GPI actually obeys a command to "Fondly regard donation", but of course that's non-canon. Bucking the trend a bit, Wayward Vagabond holds a certain appeal for the desert night over Exile Town. Gamzee and Jane have each fondly regarded the miracle of a new beginning. John has been known to do this to Nanna 's ashes.

Gay porn

Oftentimes, Hussie will slip in some gay porn. Most notable is Hunk Rump. It does not appear in Homestuck, but the Smuppets can be a sort of replacement, as well as Equius's fine musclebeast nudes. However, Hunk Rump does make an appearance on the Homestuck Vol. 9 cover art, as one of the cards held by Jake.

Haunting refrains

When musical instruments are present in a scene (string instruments in particular), a command to play a haunting refrain is often chosen, and accompanied by a simple flash video. This actually originated in Problem Sleuth, when PS was commanded to play a haunting tuba refrain. However, he refused, because the tuba in question was encrusted with filth from years of neglect.

"Punch <noun> in snout to establish <adjectival noun>"

Ace Dick is prone to expressing himself through violence, and tends to exert his Emotions in this fashion. Oddly enough, it usually results in him gaining allies. Recently ported to the Midnight Crew Intermission in Homestuck.

"Retrieve arms"

Based on the fact that character arms are often not drawn when by the character's side. This command is often the first command given to a new character when they appear. This is a pun based on the word "armaments", i.e. weapons.

"This is incredibly..."

In Problem Sleuth, several of Pickle Inspector's actions have been described in this manner. It has also been seen in Homestuck more than once, including in the Midnight Crew intermission. A common specific variant, "This is incredibly silly!", usually involves jousting, but occasionally doesn't.

"Throw down hat in disgust"

A command common among the male characters in Problem Sleuth establishing their disgust in recent events. It doesn't matter whether they are good or bad, nor how much they try and resist, or even if they are alive or not, sooner or later the hat will fly! This gag was extended to Homestuck, as well as the Midnight Crew Intermission. Jane recently threw hers down in such disgust that she managed to level up as a result. Her hat appropriately shares in the glorious spoils.

Weapon/Object Duality

Weapons in Problem Sleuth may be exchanged with something else, also known as an innocuous double, often when it's most inconvenient. The next frame typically gives an explanation of why it's ridiculous to think the character ever had such an object in the first place. This extends to the Midnight Crew in Homestuck, who keep all their items as decks of cards, and even appears briefly in Hivebent as Kanaya's weapon. Later it's revealed that Lrd English's Cairo Overcoat and cane both also have innocuous double. Or more accurately, the cane is the (relatively) innocuous form of his actual weapon.

"What pumpkin?"

The appearance of pumpkins, which originated from Jailbreak. As pumpkins are rather elusive, it's often very difficult to actually tell if there has ever been one in the room. This may have been caused by Jake, who appearified several pumpkins after discovering his Transmaterializer.

"X has been slain."

This has been used numerous times in Problem Sleuth and used twice in Homestuck.

"X: Land already"

Similarly to the above, this is used in Problem Sleuth and Homestuck to switch perspective to another character. In this case, one who has been falling, usually while other characters have been the focus. Has been used for Problem Sleuth (here and here), Nervous Broad (here), Hysterical Dame (here), John (here), Jade (here), Tavros (here) and most recently Roxy (here).

"You become... My God... YOU BECOME... X.

Followed by complaints about imagination and how you'd somehow harm your own (or someone else's) imagination in the face. It was applied to Ace Dick here when he combined himself with his alternate selves, and later applied to the Draconian Dignitary here when he put on the Ring of Orbs Nofold.

"YOU (VERB) THAT (NOUN) THIS INSTANT!"

This cry of rage has so far appeared twice, originally in a Problem Sleuth donation comic, and more recently seen in Act 5 Act 1 of Homestuck. It was first uttered by Ace Dick while playing a game of Hunk Rump: The Gathering. In an attempt to get Problem Sleuth to hurry up and finish his turn, he begins to urge PS to tap the ass card. In its second appearance, Hearts Boxcars tries to get a doubt-filled Tavros to get up and kiss Vriska. When Tavros refuses due to his inability to stand up, Hearts Boxcars flips out. Most recently, Doc Scratch has commanded Aradia's ancestor to "render [herself] in a more symbolic manner this instant".

Gags in Problem SleuthEdit

"Fall in a more <adjective> manner."

This has been used multiple times: Problem Sleuth in a more hard-boiled manner, Pickle Inspector in a sillier manner, and Nervous Broad in a more nervous manner.

"I don't know why you haven't thought of that"

Some actions occur on their own, and the action notifies the player that they most likely should have thought of this MONTHS ago, or that something is so simple that the player shouldn't question its obviousness.

"Ride <noun> like a mechanical bull"

A command often given toward objects that clearly should not be ridden like a mechanical bull.

Trying to use Sepulchritude

Problem Sleuth has had to hold off on using Sepulchritude many times, until it is finally used.

Gags in HomestuckEdit

It's worth noting that Doc Scratch implies that callbacks are an integral part of paradox space and that events often repeat again and again. In other words, many of the callbacks and recurring gags in Homestuck might be explainable in-universe as possible instances of circumstantial simultaneity.

x2 Double Facepalm Combo

First used by Rose in the Mausoleum, then by Karkat at his computer, and later not quite accomplished by Spades Slick (directly after his past self successfully accomplished it, albeit centuries before). In [S] Flip, Terezi pulled off a x3 Triple Facepalm Combo, with the aid of Lil' Cal (pap). The gag is later subverted with Doc Scratch's Facepalm x0 Combo and Bec Noir's Facepaw x1 Combo.

• Additionally, some stairs cause a HAPPEN x2 COMBOB and, later, a DRUNK HAPPEN xROSE COMBOBOB.

"Acrobatic fucking pirouette"

Several characters use this phrase, or a variation thereof, to describe how they are going to flip out if an annoying event continues to happen. It is a dramatic exaggeration of the phrase "fly off the handle". First mentioned by Dave (repeated here) when he was getting fed up with Bro's weird puppets, and actually carried out in [S] Dave: Ascend to the highest point of the building.. It is next done by Dave and the jutting out and impudent The Felt plush, into one another's hearts. Sollux threatens to do an athletiic fuckiing 2omer2ault off the deep end if he sees any more tangled wires. Dave claims he is doing some kind of spectacular fucking jackknife off the loop when Davesprite is talking to Rose. Dave later warns Terezi off using the phrase to taunt him. Terezi performs one in [S] Seer: Ascend, mirroring Dave's flash. Such acrobatics are also used to dismount objects in an ironically ungraceful manner; Dave off a sword, and Gamzee off Unireal Air. When Hussie gets too self-indulgent, MSPA Readers swear they will do one "off the stump and blow their brains out if it doesn't stop keep happening." Dirk tells Jane that Jake needs to be more skeptical, and not take a Pollyanna jackknife ass-first off whatever turnip truck is blowing through town that day. And the Auto-Responder, when Dirk asks him if he can handle overseeing Jane's entry into the game, claims he will perform an acrobatic pirouette on to the handle, wherein the handle literally represents his ability to handle that thing, following it up with an extended metaphor about marrying the handle. Also used when Jane absconds, along with some lass scampering, a couple of youth rolls, and a nice abscond.

"Addiction is a powerful thing."

Stated in many of the introductory panels of both kids and trolls.

"All the <noun>s. All of them."

Appears all over Act 5 in most of the instances where trolls are speaking of ALL of something. ALL OF IT. First shows up when Sollux is introduced. Other than Sollux's case, it frequently involves Vriska, but has also been used by Feferi, Eridan and Karkat (when talking to Vriska). The variation "None of them" has also been used. Rose goes into somewhat of an extended metaphor of the gag, using the terms "exhaustive posession" and "monopolization".

A recurring introductory set of lines in Pesterlogs

An introduction from a troll, a reaction with multiple 'o's (or zeroes) from the victim, the line "So I guess A is finally the B you C everything D," followed by an emoticon. Three examples, in the order in which they appeared in the story line, are as follows; it is also notable that, in the first and second of the examples, the phrase "Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?" is given after the emoticon. In the third, "Is there nothing I can do to ease your mind?" is given after a long pep talk.

• Karkat and Jade; A = TODAY, B = DAY, C = FUCK, and D = UP
• Kanaya and Aradia; A = Tonight, B = Night, C = Blow, and D = Up
• Calliope and Jane; A = today, B = day, C = make, and D = better.

Backup clothing

In the Midnight Crew Intermission, the Midnight Crew all have backup hats, and Lrd English has a backup Cairo Overcoat.

Being entrenched in stuff

Originally used in Dave's confrontations with Tavros, Dave refers to his and Karkat's entrenchment through penis ouija.

Being fuck-deep in stuff

Dave gets "burrowed fuck deep into lively, fluffy muppet buttock," Roxy emerges from fuck deep in meowcats, and Dave later mentions he's "been fuck deep in alt daves before."

Blast off.

Done by John three times, Sollux, and Trickster Jane.

BLUH

Commonly used as an all purpose reaction to... well, almost anything. Rose, John, Jade, Kanaya, Feferi and even Spades Slick have expressed their thoughts about someone or something using some sort of BLUH. Terezi claims to be unfazed by our human bluhs. Characters engaging in a BLUH are often depicted in Scribble Mode.

"Boy. You there, boy."

A standard greeting from Exile to player. Used by WV and CD. Spades Slick instead opts for "Hey kid. Yeah you."

"Bring me a horse and I am yours forever."

First used by Hussie in the first Act 6 Intermission 3 minigame, it was used to lead a secret at the end of the minigame. It was then used again in the third Act 6 Intermission 3 minigame by Horuss to proceed through the game.

Butler island

Dave was served like a dude on butler island during his strife with his Bro. Sollux later predicts that he will get his ass served to him twofold, liike two dude2 on doublebutler ii2land. Later, Dave becomes like a dude on butler island; i mean, a dude who happens to be one of the butlers, since he became the server player for both Rose and Jade. Also, Jake worries that he might get served like a dude on butler island if he lets his guard down. Unfortunately, this worry reaches fruition.

Carrying five or more computers

Like a sensible person. Except for John, who simply does not know any better keeps firing it out of his Sylladex, losing it in a sea of oil, giving his Sylladex to someone with the computer still inside.

Crumpling paper in anger

Dave, Terezi, Jack Noir and the Draconian Dignitary have all been seen crumpling paper in anger.

Cut to the chase and <verb> immediately.

Used in the introductions of Terezi and Tavros.

Destroying time-related devices

Spades Slick spends much of the Midnight Crew Intermission breaking the 1000 clocks in The Felt mansion. He later destroys Doc Scratch's clock, marking a total of 1001/1000 clocks destroyed. Arguably, this is paralleled by Jack Noir, who upon arrival in the trolls' session fights a thousand-strong army of doomed timeline Aradiabots. Since they are robots of the Maid of Time, they are feasibly describable as "time-related devices". In other words, 1000/1000 Aradiabots Destroyed. Then the alpha Aradiabot blows up – in a sense also destroyed by Jack, as it's caused by Aradia's god tier ascension when he destroys the trolls' Derse – making it 1001/1000.

Drinking something one is not supposed to

A character attempts to drink something that looks tantalizing, only to retch in disgust and find out otherwise. Often goes hand in hand with BLUH and, accordingly, Scribble Mode. So far, this has happened to John with his "apple juice" (in Dave's imagination), Rose with one of her mother's martinis, Kanaya with the blood of her just-deceased lusus, Feferi with some Troll Tab, and the Wizardly Vassal with shaving cream (though the latter kept on drinking it anyway). The latest one is Roxy when she drank her martini, much like Rose but with completely the opposite reaction. Eridan would have also done this with Faygo, but he considered it unnecessary since it's just soda, no big deal.

Dropping things

In Homestuck, picking up things or taking them out of the Sylladex can cause other items captchalogued in there to eject, often violently and in a hilarious fashion.

Elevatorstuck ♫

Tensei's muzak ditty has now appeared in Homestuck no fewer than twelve times. It remains to be seen if there is any significance to the fact that Caliborn finds it painfully horrendous and the crew of Vriska's ship have been practicing it.

"Everybody out of the god damn way."

"[You/I] got a A full of B, a C full of D, and an E full of F."

• Clubs Deuce; A = hat, B = bomb, C = fist, D = penis, E = head and F = empty.
• Roxy; A = lab, B = cats, C = skirt, D = scamper, E = head and F = vodka.
• Karkat; A = LAB, B = HUMANS, C = MOUTH, D = YELLING, E = TORTURED PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE and F = TOTALLY HYSTERICAL EMOTIONS AND UNAIRED GRIEVANCES AT PRACTICALLY EVERYBODY.

Faux typos

Especially used by trolls. Common examples are 'bunp', 'sign' (for 'sigh'), 'jegus', etc. Also a favorite of Roxy's (how many are alcohol-induced and how many are intentional is unclear).

Flash back button / "why"

Starting with this flash and including the three subsequent ones, the back buttons are changed to do different tasks rather than restarting the flash animation.

• If the back button is clicked on the first instance, the button disappears and the word "why" appears above where the button was.
• In attempting to click the back button in the second flash, the button changes positions and dimensions. If the reader continues to roll over the button, Nic Cage's face appears. Clicking the face returns the button to the corner and Nic Cage says, "boner."
• The third flash's back button causes many back buttons to appear. Only one button resets the flash, clicking another button will make a honk play, indicating the reader clicked the wrong button.
• Clicking the fourth flash's back button repeatedly creates sun designs (possibly alluding to Yaldabaoth's head) out of many flash buttons, but clicking any button will "advance" the progress. Eventually, each sun is replaced with a grid of Nic Cage faces. Clicking any face makes the animation pan to a poorly rendered National Treasure poster. Nic again says, "boner."

Flying off things

When not specifically doing acrobatic fucking pirouettes, things generally fly off handles, or hooks, in a manner requiring increasingly exaggerated metaphors. For instance, the hook being dead to that shit, the hook filing for divorce from that shit and seeking custody of the hook and the shit's two kids, shit wanting to reconcile with the handle, and perhaps seek marital counseling, the handle being a bald guy going really fast and Sollux being his toupee, and most of all, Karkat upping his standard shit-flipping by threatening to flip his shit "RIGHT OFF THIS FUCKING METEOR ... SPINNING AND SPINNING AND SPINNING INTO ENDLESS NOTHING, SCREAMING".

Headdesk and beating of the back of the head

Done by Karkat during a flash animation and by Eridan during a normal panel. Later by Gamzee after seeing Trickster Jane using some majyyk/magic.

He is already here

Usually in relation to Lrd English, referring to his ability to travel to any time and place he wants. The phrase is first used when discussing the virus that will summon English into the universe, repeated by Doc Scratch to Rose, and later used by English himself when he confronts the Handmaid. When English appears in Hussie's manor, our beloved author notes that English is always already here. There are also four cases of the phrase referring to someone other than English. The first is applied to Jack Noir by Vriska, the second to Spades Slick by Doc Scratch, the third to Imperial Drones by Caliborn and the fourth to Caliborn by Calliope.

"Hey." "Sup."

Used when Dave is greeting a fellow Dave or another character. , , .

"Huge bitch"

This choice of descriptor first showed up in the Midnight Crew Intermission. The next was in Act 4, in a big flash page. The next appearance is in Hivebent, just before Vriska's introduction. The most recent instance mirrors the second one. With the appearance of this gag comes a scribble of the targeted person, generally accompanied by a "BLUH BLUH". So far, only the Black Queen, Snowman and Vriska are considered huge bitches, but more recently, as Rose is busy being her typical cryptic self and leaves John hanging to deal with two trolls, he refers to her as a HUGE WITCH.

"I am the X. It's me."

Repeated on several occasions as well. This is a reference to Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff #10.

Idiotic thoughts

When characters are first introduced in Homestuck, they get insanely idiotic thoughts which normally consist of acting like an animal and besmirching their surroundings via some bodily discharge. They usually get these thoughts after trying to retrieve their arms. Though those thoughts often got cancelled, Jade goes ahead with hers. Dave doesn't do it but it is mentioned here as well as done by Brobot Here.

"Immutable fact I am stating... does not mean"

Karkat tells John that all troll kids hate all human kids during an attempt to communicate helpfully with him, and calls John an idiot so that he can clearly explain why he is not trying to be mean to him. Terezi later assures Rose that she is being helpful, but friendship just isn't taking place. Next it is again Karkat, stating that the trolls hate them, but that isn't any reason to withhold information. Kanaya informs Aradia that, although it is immutable that Sgrub will be terrible and although they are not on the same team, she will still be helpful.

Irons in the fire

Used by various trolls throughout the comic, much to the dismay of Karkat, who was the first to use it. It is formally addressed by Karkat on several occasions, usually after saying "Don't you dare say it", or something along those lines. A variation occurs in Kanaya's conversation with Feferi when Kanaya says "Burdens In The Fire" which means the opposite, but kind of has the same idea to it.

"IS THIS YOU"

Used by Terezi to attempt to troll Dave by sending him pictures of various badasses males that bear the most minimal of resemblance to him. One instance led Davesprite to compliment Terezi's trolling methods, although he could have been trolling her in turn. Thus far, several variants have been used in two different conversations between Dave and Terezi. More recently, Calliope has used it for Dirk and Roxy, and Caliborn has used a variant for himself with Dirk and Jane.

"It's hard being X. It's hard, and nobody understands"

Repeated on several occasions.

• First by Hussie (Mothersprite?) to Kanaya
  • X = being a kid and growing up
• Then by Eridan to Kanaya
  • X = being a kid and growwing up
• Then, much later, by Roxy to AR
  • X = as totey sweet a friend as me
  • Uses "no 1" instead of nobody
• Last used by Hussie when narrating for Caliborn
  • X = a cherub and growing up with lots of weird magical rules that nobody understands and have no discernible origin or purpose

Just sort of...

"Just sort of..." is a gag in Homestuck that involves Hussie's narration on one page and the completion of the phrase in a command or an action on the next page.

• First used when narrating for Gamzee - Gamzee gets his husktop
• Hussie uses it himself after "defeating" Doc Scratch - he gets the repaired disc for the Homestuck game.
• Used when Roxy takes the totes baller scarf
• Used when Jake takes a Fenestrated wall

The two most recent occurrences listed above both share a similar quality. In addition to the completion of the phrase in a command for the next panel, the next panel's narration begins with "You just sort of X."

There are other pseudo-occurrences where the phrase "just sort of" ends a line and is picked up on the next line.

• Feferi wants to be "just sort of regular friends instead" of moirails with Eridan
• Davesprite to Dave about "releasing himself."
• Dave to Karkat about "hopping up and like flying away" from the meteor.

Kanaya getting knocked off the lab's teleporter pad

As someone else teleports from the other end. First by Eridan in Kanaya: Return to the core. Later by Karkat on this page. Kanaya lampshades the recurrent nature of the gag the second time around.

Legendary infinite X

Dirk taking a legendary infinite shower, and Jane hoping that Dad is having one of his legendary infinite carwashes.

Legendary piece of shit

Used to refer to a legendary weapon that fails to live up to its hype, such as the broken Caledfwlch and Ahab's Crosshairs.

Level up for slaying the imp

Objects used by Rose to smash imps are given their own ranking on the Echeladder. These objects include John's fridge, his bathtub, and the old copy of Colonel Sassacre's Daunting Text of Magical Frivolity and Practical Japery. Later on, Jane's hat also levels up for being perfectly thrown down.

"Lousy (goddamn) stupid <noun>."

So far, every kid save for Dave has voiced his or her disgust for something in this manner. Sollux, in a similar but not-quite-the-same manner, and in a 2X DISGUST COMBO, expresses his distaste for lousy stupid goddamn psychics and his window. The Salamander mushroom farmer also said this about the mushrooms. Vriska also expressed distate for a supportive friend in this manner, as did Bec Noir.

Magic is/isn´t real

Hussie, throughout the comic, switches magic from Real (E.g. Rose after she crafts her magical needles) to Fake (E.g. Eridan´s introduction) and keeps switching it between real and fake. The gag was taken from one of Hussie's unfinished works, a novel titled Wizardy Herbert.

Make-believe time is over

"Oh God what has he done? <Name>? Please tell me that's just <substance>. Please just be <substance> please just be <substance> please just be <substance>. Haha, ok, make-believe time is over! Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god."

Difficulty accepting the death of a cherished one. Technically, this is first seen in Bro's comic. The gag then takes place after Karkat finds Sollux dead after the Vast Glub (substance = HONEY). Later, he repeats it after watching Eridan slaughter Feferi and Kanaya (substance = GRUB SAUCE). After that, it is repeated by Hussie himself before he tries to revive Rufio (substance = mohawk dye). The gag is probably a reference to Cheerfulbear - PLAY ME.

Object piles

Jade's Squiddles, Rose's scarves, Gamzee's horns, and Eridan's shitty wands. Dave's Bro's jumble of unbelievably shitty swords may also count. The only unique case is Vriska, since while she does have piles of dice and 8-balls lying around her hive, she was not the one to pile them; rather, they were piled by Kanaya, who was simply cleaning her room. However, Vriska does have a pile of boondollars and boonbucks from her FLARP conquests in her secret room.

"Oh nooooo..."

Generally with various letters repeated. Fairly self-explanatory. Please make sure to read it in the proper tone of mental voice. First instance: Jade hears from Karkat again, the first time from our perspective. In the second instance, Jade is thwarted one more time by a pumpkin. In the third instance, dream Jade's reaction to the accidentally impaled crow. Another example is Nepeta's comment on her shipping wall to the possible matespritship of Karkat and Vriska. Happens again when Jake accidentally kills a fairy bull. This time doesn't count. Kanaya hears it from Aradia. There is another similar example when John is contacted by Karkat for the frist time in Act 4.

PCHOOOOO

This, and variants, are used as a sound effect or captcha code for anything rocket related, like a rocket pack or rocket shoes.

Psyche

Before something cool is about to happen, Hussie suddenly shifts the story to focus on another character. The first time this happens is when Rose leaves the observatory to confront her mother, which is interrupted with "OH PSYCHE" and switches to Dave's introduction. Worthy of note is the X2 DOUBLE PSYCHEOUT COMBO and, eventually, an attempt at a 5X CLIFFHANGER COMBO and the cause of an UNPSYCHE. On this page there's a PRELOADER PSYCHEOUT luring the reader into thinking it's Dave's Strife page when in it is really Jade's. There were no further psycheouts for almost 4500 pages, until the "end" of Act 6 Intermission 3. Less than 60 pages later where "literally the worst psycheout in Homestuck to date" occurs which is immediately followed by a pre-loader psycheout.

Quote misattribution

"There isn't one quote in HS which is attributed correctly."

— Homestuck Book 1 commentary.

The narration will often include a quote, only to attribute it to the wrong person. This happens in the cases of Mark Twain (Shakespeare), Walt Whitman (François de La Rochefoucauld), Charles Barkley (T. S. Eliot), John Keats (Snoop Dogg), and Charles Dutton (also Shakespeare). There was also one attributed to Troll Will Smith in Karkat's ~ATH handbook (John Oxenham).

RAAARARRAAUUUAAAAUUAGHGHGGHGGGGHHGH!

An exclamation used in anger. Hussie was the first to use it, in the alt text of two banner images during the Doc Scratch narrative. It has since been used by Karkat, John, Jane, Roxy (without an exclamation mark), Vriska and Kanaya (with only the first letter capitalized).

Renaming non-speaking characters

Typically, each new naming is of the opposite gender to the old name. Seen with Vodka Mutini (aka Dr. Meowgon Spengler), Casey (aka Viceroy Bubbles Von Salamancer), Liv Tyler (aka Terry Kiser), Jaspers (aka Frigglish), and Serenity (aka doctor blinkbottom/twinkly herbert).

"Resist urge to <verb> <noun>"

Used when a character is close to an item that may be tempting to use or touch, or is otherwise subject to a temptation, such as revenge. This usually ends in the character failing to resist the urge, but not always.

Reunite with loving...

Originally used to fondly regard Con Air, but has now extended beyond that.

Ripping out one's heart

And crushing it with one's robotic arm. This has been discussed on two occasions so far: by Vriska for her cerulean heart, and much later by Dirk's auto-responder for the brobot's uranium heart. Both cases were followed by robots enacting it; first the Aradiabot by removing her robotic heart and then beating it to a pulp, and then by the brobot in removing the uranium from its body, smashing it to pieces, and promptly exploding.

ROBOSLAP

Here and here.

Shaving cream flammability

Shaving cream is initially expected to be flame-suppressant by both the Authority Regulator and John. However, John is quickly made to revise this expectation drastically with the revelation of OH GOD HOW CAN SHAVING CREAM BE SO FLAMMABLE. Later, examining the flagpole in [S] John: Enter Village references the selfsame flammability. This gag does end up as a Funny Aneurysm, however, shortly before the end of Act 5 Act 2.

Shucks buster

First said by Jane, then Roxy right afterwards. Jake says it to the Auto-responder, who then says it to Roxy.

Solicit profound wisdom from X."

Where X is usually a hopelessly unhelpful source. Done by Jake, Dirk, and Jane.

Sound effects

Primarily 'shoosh', 'pap', 'nak' and 'doof', not always in appropriate places. On the other hand, several items have struck someone on the head with a satisfying 'BONK' or even 'bap'.

Stuff being "for babies who poop hard in their diapers"

Mentioned by John, Spades Slick and (with slightly more b100-b100ded vocabulary) Equius. Also used here, somewhat ironically, to refer to boondollars being inferior to Kiddie Camper Handysashes.

STRIIIIIIIIDDDDDDEEEERRRRR!!!

Used when angry at Dave. Rose shouted it when she was trying to enter Sburb, and John at his Fraymotif shop. Jake also does this when Dirk's dream splinter starts messing with him in a dream bubble. John also exclaimed this upon reading Davesprite's note to him.

Stunning revelation

No way did anyone see that twist coming. Used for Aradia's all-the-time death, and (unsuccessfully) for the fact that the trolls have one session and not two. In fact, if Hussie states that something is a shocking twist, it probably isn't. For example, Dad's room turning out to be perfectly ordinary.

Sweet Catch

Appears when one of the main characters catches something at very high speeds.

"<Temporal noun> in the <Past/Future>, but not many..."

This expression is used a lot of times in Homestuck, to change the story's current time to go to the past or to the future, as the story occurs in both simultaneously. "But not many" appears as Daedric text in [S] Jane: Enter.

"That didn't stop..."

Used in situations mentioning something that has not been shown in the story in a decent amount of time, such as "That didn't stop being a thing that was real or anything" or "That didn't stop being true."

"That's really all there is to say on the matter"

Dave and John will often summarize their situation quickly, then say this. That's really all there is to say on the matter. Additionally, when Vriska forces Tavros to jump off a cliff, he types "That's really all there is to report on the subject of me getting hurt", imitating Dave's pose from after being bested by his Bro. Dirk has also used this when talking about his love for puppets. It happens again after Jake fought and lost against the Brobot.

"That sure is a X you have there."

Used to politely convey bewilderment and disapproval of something someone else has just said, such as with Jade and Tavros.

"That was the plan. To give you a boner. And you got one."

A line said by Nicolas Cage in the movie Snake Eyes which appears in the Dark Cage Easter egg from Karkat: Mental breakdown. Jake and his Dirk projection and Caliborn have said the line or a variation on it while talking about boners.

"This is an absolutely preposterous amount of X."

In which X can refer to money, Daves, or time.

"This <human/troll> <emotion/disease> called friendship

Mentioned multiple times, with frequent debate over whether friendship is actually an emotion or not.

"THIS IS STUPID"

Used first by John, then other characters, whenever they realize something is particularly stupid. The first time he began to have a mental breakdown when he realized that Betty Crocker, his sworn nemesis, manufactures Fruit Gushers, but quickly stopped when he realised that THIS IS STUPID. It was later invoked when he ignored Dave's advice about skipping to the seventh gate and blasted off anyways. Nepeta does the gesture when teasing Equius for kissing Aradia, as does Karkat when entering Trickster Mode after he woke up. It happens again later in Daedric when Karkat has a mental breakdown after reading John's bucket-delivered letter over the idea of Troll/Human sloppy makeouts. Hussie himself is also seen enlarging the phrase over three panels, as he leans in to kiss the corpse of the late Rufio.

Toilet displacement

Newly connected Sburb players (invariably female ones, as it happens) who are still getting used to the interface seem to have a serious habit of ruining the client player's bathroom. The toilet (if we choose to use that hoity-toity, blueblooded term) is usually first to go, followed occasionally the bathtub. It's not purely restricted to the bathroom, however, as the bed will often suffer as well. Rose, Jade, Terezi, Aradia, and even Kanaya have done this.

Troll this <adjective> <noun>.

Seen when Terezi trolls an awesome coolkid and when Karkat trolls a worthless human, and echoed when Vriska manipulates a worthless human.

Trolls sure are weird!

Also applied to Jade's family, human transportation/safety, and human romance.

Unreal Air

Dave, Gamzee and Jane own the Unreal Air, Unireal Air, and Unreal Heiress Tiaratop, respectively.

Vriska being annoyed at having to follow explanations

She claims she is keeping so many notes and running out of ink, pens and paper, etc.

"Wear the <article of clothing>, Be the <title>"

Used on Rose, John and Roxy. When used, it often involves a certain pony.

"What's his/her deal????????"

Said by Vriska regarding Aradia and John. Also said by Jake, regarding Jane.

"Who's this douche bag?"

Recurring reaction to unfamiliar faces, like Bing Crosby. Especially Bing Crosby. In [S] DD: Ascend more casually, after zooming in on a portrait of Eddie Morton that has flashing Lrd English-like eyes, multiple lines of "Who's this douche bag" are displayed vertically in flashing letters.

Words beginning with 'A'

"Homestuck does its fair share to improve the vocabulary of youngsters, albeit with heavy emphasis on the first letter of the alphabet."

— Homestuck Book 1 commentary.

Sometimes, obscure words of this kind are used instead of words which would be more commonly used in their place. For example, John's computer taskbar has an "Actuate" button instead of a "Start" button. During Strife, the kids can select options such as "Aggrieve", "Aggress(-passive)", "Abjure", "Abscond", "Abstain", "Abuse", "Accuse", "Assail" or "Assault". While firing at Becquerel, Jade can choose "Arraign", "Arsenalize", "Artillerate", "Armamentify"... or "Arf".

<X>SPLODE

Certain characters or objects will explode with their own personalized explosion effect. A backhand to the face causes one of Equius's robots to ROBOSPLODE, while, much later, the process of Aradia's ascension leads her to BOTSPLODE. One of Dave's comics for Terezi involves a memesplode. Eridan uses his "white science" to make the Matriorb HOPESPLODE. Hussie AUTHORSPLODEs through the Fifth Wall into the Handmaid's room. Tavrisprite's iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE personalities unsurprisingly cause them to Tavrispl♉de!. A dragon lusus on Jake's island causes Lil Seb to glaresplode. Erisolsprite and ARquiusprite's argument drives Fefetasprite to (dear, sweet, precious) FEFETASPLODE!

"YES. HELL YES. HELL FUCKING YES."

Generally while riding some kind of mount like a bucking bronco. The first two examples, involving John riding Maplehoof and Eridan and Feferi riding seahorses, are in Scribble Mode, while the third, involving Hussie riding Falcor the Luckdragon, is presented in the normal style (and with "Hell yes" instead of "Fuck yes" for the middle statement). This happens one more time in Act 6 Intermission 5 except, John isn't riding any thing as he does random activities to ease his boredom. Possibly an offshoot of the "Ride X like a mechanical bull" joke from Problem Sleuth. Dirk writes "Hell. Fucking. Yes." on the edited copy of Pony Pals he gave to Jane, and later he and the Auto-Responder tag-team the phrase when they discover the book survived an explosion.

"You cannot hope to beat <X> in a <Y>-off. S/he is simply the best there is"

You cannot hope to beat John, Tavros, Aurthour, or Kanaya in a prank-off, a8scond-off, butler-off, or snark-off, respectively. They are simply the best there are. Happens again in Act 6 Intermission 2, as Rose states, "I think you'll find that when it comes to striving for a reasonable approximation of legitimacy, we are simply the most barely adequate there is."

"You figure you've left him hanging long enough."

Both John and Dave have left various things "hanging". In one of John's cases it is used figuratively to mean that he needs to high-five the Kernelsprite; John also regards his sprite's hanginghood after he and Nannasprite kick some ogre ass. In Dave's case, it is meant literally in reference to the hanging puppet in his way.

"You suddenly (don't) understand everything/anything"

John. John, less confident. Terezi understands humans. Kanaya suddenly doesn't understand anything. Jade suddenly understands jack shit, as Karkat reiterates. Also, Dirk is sarcastic.

You're welcome

The Courtyard Droll's calling card. First seen when Jack receives a pumpkin full of knives, and again when several items are delivered to Roxy. In addition, the Condesce's document for Roxy has it written on the cover, it also apears in Gamzee's you're mother fuckin welcome version. On a meta level, Hussie owns an embosser bearing his face and the same caption; signed copies of Problem Sleuth Book 4 and Homestuck Book 2 sold through TopatoCo were embossed with the seal. The gag is a reference to a NSFW thread Hussie posted on the Penny Arcade forums about a copy of the book Wizardology that he extensively vandalized.