History VisualNovel / Psycholonials

** Chapter 5 ends with [[spoiler:Z. and her army of Jubilites taking over Nantucket, having made all civilians evacuate and leaving approximately 40 cops shot dead. But in the shoot-out, Percy was also killed, and Z. was shot in the leg, passing out, but not before convincing her followers of a false chemical attack on the island.]]

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* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' and ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' in particular. It doesn't take place in the same universe and isn't a webcomic, but has the same "person trapped in a room tries to escape" beginning and continues the 90's adventure game feel. In particular, ''Homestuck'' is in part a story about living on the internet, a theme that continues in ''Psycholonials'' with an update for the state of the internet in 2020.

* PosterGalleryBedroom: Discussed, as Z comments that a person's posters on her wall ought to reflect who they are a person, as people these days are only a collection of interests and media they like. The only decoration her entire house is a collection of things that were once important to her: an Music/InsaneClownPosse poster representing her {{Juggalo}} past, a Music/PostMalone poster representing her perfect man, and a picture of [[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} Karkat]], representing another past obsession. Together these represent her obsession with clowns and weird cantankerous goblins.

The story follows Z., an aspiring Instagram influencer living on Nantucket Island during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, who is trying to grow her brand through a combination of absurdist shitposting and flirty content. After a mystic vision involving ghosts, a giant shadowy humanoid in space, and her dead father, Z. is inspired to rededicate herself to The Jubilite Manifesto, a tome she wrote that is somehow connected to her online cancellation one years prior. When Z. decides to break quarantine and leave the house to visit her friend Abby, her dedication to her manifesto changes things for her forever.

** A non-Homestuck example, Professor Chucklefuck [[spoiler:the third Supreme Honkifex after Mizzlebip's assassination]] is a dead ringer for Sugarshoe from ''Whistles'', another one of Hussie's works.

* MulticoloredHair: Multiple Jubilites have this, as a part of their clown makeup. Joculine in particular has the entire rainbow in her hair, even looping around back to red.

* [[spoiler:TakeAThirdOption]]: An interesting example. Throughout the game, fake "choices" are presented to the reader, but the reader is never allowed to actually pick anything, due to Z not being considered a "true successor" yet. [[spoiler:By the end of the game, when Zhen has finally achieved that status, the reader is presented with a choice they can actually interact with: a heavy crown, representing going back and becoming Supreme Honkifex once more at the cost of all the suffering it brings, or Damocles' sword, representing leaving it behind, but living her life in guilt and worry over her actions as Supreme Honkifex and whether they'll come back to bite her. Regardless of what the reader actually picks, Zhen resists both, choosing her own path -- leaving it all behind and letting go of it all, taking her time in happiness instead of wasting it in fear. The story presents this as closer to the sword than the crown, but fades the sword out to symbolize its loss of power over her.]]

* VideoGamesAndFate: The game repeatedly presents the player with options, only to lock the suggestion boxes as the narrator, a supernatural entity, insists that you don't have a choice, as Z. (the protagonist) has no control over her actions, as she hasn't earned it yet, leading to an almost entirely linear storyline that constantly toys with questions of responsibility and agency. In Chapter 9, [[spoiler: the player is finally presented with a choice, but if you select the "Crown" option repeatedly Zhen says "Don't tell me what to do", and the epilogue reveals that all possible choices lead to the Sword path, as the choice was Zhen's to make, not yours.]]

* MeaningfulRename: In chapter 9, Z. starts going by her given name, Zhen. This symbolizes her embracing her Chinese heritage (she started going by Z because people couldn't pronounce Zhen) and reconciling with her immigrant parents, [[spoiler: as well as her casting away her clownsona and identity as the leader of the Jubilities.]]

* IfItsYouItsOkay: Bisexual Abby jokes that she is lesbian who is attracted to exactly seven men -- the members of Music/{{BTS}}.

* IncompatibleOrientation: Abby is bisexual and tried to kiss Z., who is straight.

* FlippingTheTable: In chapter 8, after Abby laughs at her plans, Z throws a tantrum and is so enrages she topples a coffee table in their meeting room.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' and ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' in particular. It doesn't take place in the same universe and isn't a webcomic, but has the same "person trapped in a room tries to escape" premise and continues the 90's adventure game feel. In particular, ''Homestuck'' is in part a story about living on the internet, a theme that continues in ''Psycholonials'' with an update for the state of the internet in 2020.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: As the game progresses, the Jublilites, a revolutionary anarchistic anti-capitalist group, split into countless competing, infighting factions. In Chapter 8, [[spoiler: factional infighting between Jubilite camps leaves dozens dead, including most of the higher-ups]], and this only gets worse at the end of the game [[spoiler: after Z abdigates, in which there is an endless cycle of new leaders taking over and then getting immediately killed and replaced by someone else.]]

* ExpositoryPronoun: In Chapter 9 of ''VisualNovel/{{Psycholonials}}'', during one of Zhen's dream sequences, the narrator [[spoiler: (Z.'s Successor aspect)]] repeatedly uses "you" ambiguously, to the confusion of Zhen. The narrator then discusses the trope, noting the importance of pronouns to nonbinary people and describes "you" as a "clown car" able to fit untold numbers of people, before clarifying that "you" refers not to Zhen but to the [[BreakingTheFourthWall untold number of players out there]], whose decision it is to make.
* {{Expy}}: Z. shares many similarities with Vriska from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. Both are bad girls with long black hair and a give no fucks attitude. Both do terrible things including [[spoiler: killing a number of people]], but both also receive sympathetic portrayals that include a FreudianExcuse related to the death of a parental figure they had mixed feelings about. Their main relationships are with similar characters: a submissive male minion/love interest (Percy/Tavros) who they push around and [[spoiler: ultimately cause the death of]], a sensible, motherly LipstickLesbian with an unrequited crush on them who tries her best to take care of them (Abby/Kanaya), and a perky childhood frenemy who tries to bring them to justice despite ambivalent feelings toward them (Terezi/[[spoiler: Joculine]]). And both amass an army of followers to fight against an enemy (capitalism/Lord English) with the odds against them. Given that Hussie claimed Vriska was his favorite character, it's unsurprising he made her character archetype the protagonist of his next work.

* {{Expy}}: Z. shares many similarities with Vriska from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. Both are bad girls with long black hair and a give no fucks attitude. Both do terrible things including [[spoiler: killing a number of people]], but both also receive sympathetic portrayals that include a FreudianExcuse related to the death of a parental figure they had mixed feelings about. They have similar relationships with a submissive male minion/love interest (Percy/Tavros) who they push around and [[spoiler: ultimately cause the death of]], and with a sensible, motherly LipstickLesbian with an unrequited crush on them who tries her best to take care of them (Abby/Kanaya). And both amass an army of followers to fight against an enemy (capitalism/Lord English) with the odds against them. Given that Hussie claimed Vriska was his favorite character, it's unsurprising he made her character archetype the protagonist of his next work.

* WeAreStruggleTogether: As the game progresses, the Jublilites, a revolutionary anarchistic anti-capitalist group, split into countless competing, infighting factions. In Chapter 8, [[spoiler: factional infighting between Jubilite camps leaves dozens dead, including most of the higher-ups]], and this only gets worse at the end of the game [[spoiler: after Z abdigates, in which there is an endless cycle of new leaders taking over and then getting immediately killed and replaced by someone else.]]

** In episode 9, [[Z. directly addresses the player as "you" and clarifies that she's not referring to Zhen, but to the player, who is the one making the choice of Sword or Crown]]/

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In Chapter 9, Abby and Z. discuss whether Riotus and Z.'s visions were real or imaginary, though the ending comes down on the side of real.

* MoreDakka: The battle in Episode 8 is filled with endless streams of bullets from all directions, depicted as lines.