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1[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ps291-1_6645.jpg]]
2[-[[caption-width-right:320:[[SuperSentaiStance Pose as a team,]] [[LetsGetDangerous because SHIT JUST GOT REAL]].]]-]
3
4->''You answer the phone in a hard boiled manner. You explain to the woman gruffly that you'd love to help her out, sweetheart, but you're up to your neck in all this weird puzzle shit. You hang up.''
5-->-- '''[[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth/279 Chapter 4]]'''
6
7'''> Knock a stiff one back and get to sleuthing.'''
8
9''[[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth Problem Sleuth]]'' is the third webcomic under the ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' banner, written by Creator/AndrewHussie, and was arguably the one which first brought Hussie and his work into the limelight. Written and presented [[InteractiveComic in the style of]] an ersatz text/point-and-click adventure game, it details the antics of three especially {{hardboiled detective}}s--[[TheHero Problem Sleuth]], [[TheLancer Ace Dick]], and [[TheSmartGuy Pickle Inspector]]--in their attempts to [[LockedInARoom get out of their offices]], all the while working to aid the turmoil-stricken kingdoms of the Weasels, Clowns, Hogs, and Elves and to foil the dastardly plots of Mobster Kingpin.
10
11While initially presented as a take on the FilmNoir genre, its strength is in how it parodies numerous point-and-click adventures, JRPG mechanics, video game tropes, and its [[KudzuPlot ever-increasingly complicated story]], which still eventually ties up all loose ends neatly. Much like its successor ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', it also demonstrates a very steady level of ArtEvolution up until the end, evolving from relatively-crude static panels to [[AnimationBump increasingly-complex]] panels depicting {{Super Move Portrait Attack}}s, SummonMagic, and {{Wave Motion Gun}}s galore.
12
13'''Warning: High chance of spoilers. Proceed with caution.'''
14----
15
16!!> Pose as a team, because tropes just got real:
17* ActionGirl: Despite their less-than-intimidating monikers, both Hysterical Dame and Nervous Broad can hold their own in a scrap. Madame Murel is another example of the DarkActionGirl variety.
18* AffectionateParody: The menu options, magical factions, multi-stage boss battles, miscellaneous health and magic meters, weird puzzle shit, and constant exploration are a a nod to {{JRPG}}s and {{Adventure Game}}s.
19* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: Subverted. The "imaginary universe" that at first seems like a shared dream world is a tangible location that can be accessed several different ways.]]
20* AllThereInTheManual: The [[DVDCommentary author's commentary]] in the published edition often explains (jokingly) a few plot points not otherwise apparent, including a few {{Aborted Arc}}s.
21* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:One of PI's duplicates decides to fly away and ascend to godhood. He becomes Godhead Pickle Inspector and only responds to the command "Fondly regard creation"]].
22* AmateurSleuth: All three protagonists, allegedly: they never actually do any sleuthing.
23* AnachronismStew: Despite being "vaguely Prohibition-era", characters will play board games invented in the 50s, paint ethnically-diverse murals of the 90s, and use computers to search [=GameFAQs=]. Also, they have wormholes to other dimensions that run on power from wall-sockets.
24* AndTheAdventureContinues: The second to last page of the webcomic states "There's a problem. And you'll be damned if you aren't gonna be the fellas to sleuth it."
25* ArcWords: Shit just got real. [[spoiler:Shit is real]].
26* ArtShift: For one page, the [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000975 narrative continues]] through a delightfully charming [[Webcomic/HarkAVagrant Kate Beaton]] style comic.
27* AssKickingPose: After arming themselves with powerful candy guns, PS, AD, and PI pose as a team because [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome SHIT JUST GOT REAL]].
28* BehindTheBlack: A [[spoiler:giant mural celebrating ethnic diversity]] is unexpectedly revealed to be on the fourth wall of Problem Sleuth's office, possibly symbolic of the comic's audience.
29* BigStupidDoodooHead:
30** Team Sleuth is notoriously bad at writing insults to each other. Ace Dick calls Problem Sleuth [[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth/85 an "Ass Hole" (note the space),]] PS [[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth/72 can't even rhyme his insults,]] and the worst PI can [[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth/129 come up with]] is meekly stating that Problem Sleuth is ''impolite''.
31** [[spoiler:PS would later use a [[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth/1515 similar letter]] about how much DMK sucks as ammo for his Pax Problicum attack, which somehow actually shook the guy enough to make a serious spike to his Sick Burn meter.]]
32* BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce: The FIVE ALARM HOT SAUCE, which is a concoction brewed by combining chipotle peppers with various monster horns.
33-->''It has a funny taste. You can't put your finger on it, but if you had to describe it you would say it has the flavor of INTENSE PAIN.''
34* BodyHorror: DMK, whose body is a gigantic, floating, plant-like head covering a mass of vines, claws, wings, and thorns.
35* BondOneLiner: "You drop your cold blooded line which you spent the last few minutes thinking up."
36-->[[spoiler:''Hate to cut and run...'']]
37* BornLucky: Mobster Kingpin. "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000864 As luck would have it, your VIM gauge maxes out]]." [[spoiler:Later, it's revealed that [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001294 he was cheating]]]].
38* BottomlessBladder: Lampshaded/subverted: "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000299 You remember you're pissed off at Ace Dick, and in addition to which, you haven't been able to pee once in the 13 and a half hours you've been locked in your office]]."
39* BrickJoke: Almost every BrickJoke is also a ChekhovsGun, but one example that fits better here is Ace Dick [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001484 walking]] the [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000522 UGLY DOG]].
40* BulletDodging: Each hero's "Auto-Parry" does it differently: Problem Sleuth on purpose via UnnecessaryCombatRoll, Pickle Inspector [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny accidentally via distraction]], and Ace Dick auto-parries by...[[{{Kevlard}} taking the shot directly in his gut]].
41* BurlyDetectiveSyndrome: Parodied by having nearly every relevant humans identified by a description as part of the comic's Film Noir setting. The boys get names like "Pickle Inspector" and "Churlish Toff", girls are referred to as "Nervous Broad" and "Hysterical Dame", even the main villain is just known as "Mobster Kingpin" in the narration. The only main character exempt from this is Madame Murel.
42* CallBack: Many {{Call Back}}s develop into {{Running Gag}}s, making it difficult to distinguish between the two. The story is manifest out of building previous one-off gags into stable pillars of the game world. From the FAQ:
43-->''For instance, the seemingly idiotic and highly ignorable command "Build fort out of desk" lead not only to a short-term humorous payoff, but to an entire imaginary universe paradigm, and in a way, a whole gaming system which appeared to exist from the beginning, but only became manifest through the command.''
44* CallAHitPointASmeerp: There's no end to them. Vitality Carats. Gumption Wafers. Pep Gold.
45* CallingYourAttacks: SEPULCHRITUUUUUUUUUUDE!
46* {{Calvinball}}:
47** General game mechanics adhere to RuleOfFunny and RuleOfCool, and nothing else.
48** The game PI plays against Death. It is an enormous mesh of [[GridPuzzle Sudoku]], TabletopGame/{{chess}}, ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', Sorry!, a Western, and ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.
49* CanonImmigrant:
50** [[spoiler:Ace Dick ends up falling ''backwards'' in canon [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001555 into]] ''Webcomic/{{Jailbreak}}'', revealing answers brought up to questions ''in a different game'']].
51** [[spoiler:Ace Dick also [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001577 visits the swamp]] from ''Webcomic/BardQuest''.]]
52* TheCassandra: [[ExpositionFairy The Infinite Summation Honeybee Professor]] might be [[UnwantedAssistance annoying]], but it turns out his advice would've actually been pretty useful.
53* CharacterAlignment:
54** {{Invoked}} using the [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000617 ALLEGIANCE MENU]] to decide between siding with the weasels or the elves.
55** Later, the [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000787 ALLEGIANCE MESH]] depicts the convoluted alignment among the four kingdoms.
56* ChekhovsArmory: Anything, no matter how meaningless or insignificant, can turn into something crucial or valuable later on in the story.
57* ChekhovsGun: Many, including just about every named battle command, but the one with the longest time to fire and biggest effect would have to be [[spoiler:Problem Sleuth's CANDY CORN, which is finally sacrified to land the finishing blow to DMK]].
58* ChekhovsSkill: PI and the [[SolveTheSoupCans Labyrinthine Sudocube Comprehsensile]].
59* ChessWithDeath: Happens quite a few times, even without anything at stake, and never once with chess. At least not the [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001008 traditional version of it]].
60-->''You desperately bargain with Death, challenging him to any game you can think of for the fair damsel's life. TabletopGame/{{Clue}}, TabletopGame/ConnectFour, TabletopGame/{{Uno}}, TabletopGame/{{Battleship}}, Sudoku, well ok not Sudoku, but how about TabletopGame/SnakesAndLadders, that's fun, or what about TabletopGame/HungryHungryHippos god you LOVE ''Hungry Hungry Hippos .''
61* ChewBubblegum:
62** Ace Dick joins the battle against Mobster Kingpin by jumping through the pool portal:
63--->''You're here for two things: to fucking ruin someone's shit, and to play a friendly game of make-believe.''
64--->''AND YOU'RE ALL OUT OF IMAGINATION.''
65** Also, in an extra:
66--->''You're here for two things: to rain unspeakable devastation down on the forces of evil, and to flail your limbs about in a playful manner.''
67--->''AND YOU HAVE NO ROOM IN YOUR FORT TO FLAIL ABOUT WHATSOEVER.''
68* ChickenWalker:
69** Candy mecha is a sentient example. In fact, even after the head is detached so that it can fly off to fight the villain, the legs still are used for various purposes.
70** Problem Sleuth mounts the legs of the first beast the party slew and walks around in it.
71* ClosedCircle: The entirety of ''Problem Sleuth''. It turns out to be a BIG [[spoiler:(imaginary)]] circle.
72* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: "[[spoiler:Sensing his impending demise, DMK [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001742 grows a few extra health meters]]]]."
73* ConcealingCanvas: Frequently subverted and otherwise played with.
74* ContinuityNod: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001506 Over 1000 strips later]], we rejoin the sunglasses that were stolen from the Starsky bust. Although the plot relevance makes this technically a CallBack, it has the largest "time since last mention":"relevance to plot" ratio in the game.
75* CoolAirship: [[spoiler:Mobster Kingpin]]'s ship, the ''[[https://www.homestuck.com/problem-sleuth/839 CHICAGO OVERCOAT]]'', black thorn of the [[spoiler:imaginary]] skies.
76* CreationMyth: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001682 With equal parts absurd myth and hard science]].
77* CriticalHit: By many names: BRUTAL AFFRONT, SAVAGE UPBRAID.
78* CutAndPasteComic: Lampshaded in some of the "pose as a team" commands; "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000509 You copy and paste your previous poses into a new file and animate the background rapidly]]."
79* CuttingTheKnot: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001377 After having a solved puzzle reset, Fiesta Ace Dick uses this to solve it a second time]].
80* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Five separate times Problem Sleuth tried to call forth the "righteous fires of charisma" of [[spoiler:Sepulchritude]], and [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000876 every]] [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000930 time]] [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000970 he]] [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001106 was]] [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001282 stopped]]. After it is finally used, he [[spoiler:turns grey and beaten and, greatly weakened, falls into BHMK's Event Horizon]].
81* DeathByOriginStory: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001524 Your losses cause you to feel an all-consuming sense of vengeance. You feel like every superhero origin cliche is swirling around you at once]]!
82* DeathIsCheap[=/=]DeathIsNotPermanent: You get 3 imaginary lives and, if your physical body dies, you can challenge Death to the game of your choice in the afterlife or [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001586 just sneak out while he's not looking]].
83* DeliciousDistraction: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000436 Battle Technique: Torso Flail]].
84* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001718 If your IMAGINATION was a face you would punch it. In the face]].
85* [[DesignatedGirlFight Designated Distaff Counterpart Fight]]: Hysterical Dame + Nervous Broad vs. Madame Murel.
86* DeusExMachina: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001486 DEUS EX SEWING MACHINA]]
87* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu:
88** No, ''[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001027 Fluthlu]]''.
89** Defeating [[BigBad DMK]], a demonic entity who is vastly more powerful than Fluthulu, certainly counts as well.
90* {{Dissimile}}: "The candy mecha's legs scramble around like a chicken whose head decapitated itself and flew into the sky to fight a demonic mob boss."
91* DistaffCounterpart: Played straight in two instances and downplayed in another: Each of the three detectives eventually had spirit quests, where they were psychically linked with female counterparts of themselves. [[spoiler:They later meet the counterparts]]. As described on the site:
92-->''PS, AD and PI each have a lady counterpart, in accordance with deep seated mythology that dictates that any man secretly wishes to have sex with a female version of himself (re: Alvin and the Chipmunks, [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse Mickey/Minnie]], etc.) HD is PS's counterpart, NB is PI's, while AD is his own counterpart because he has a very poor imagination. So that's one duplicate AD, the one with the wig/helmet.''
93* DividingByZero: All the damn time. Their favorite method seems to be ramming a window through itself.
94* DontFearTheReaper: Death is actually a pretty nice guy [[spoiler:with a love for games]].
95* EpicFail: Past Future Pickle Inspector's ultimate attack against the Midnight Crew in [[https://www.homestuck.com/extras/20 this bonus strip]].
96* EarnYourHappyEnding: All the boys wanted was to escape their offices and get on with their sleuthing. To do so, they had to journey through fantastic worlds a hundred times over, die a few times, solve a perplexing number of preposterous puzzles, subject themselves to reality-warping shenanigans of a profound nature, and engage in an entirely-too-long, highly-difficult, insanely-complex fight against [[spoiler:a demonic mobster]]. But, in the end, they get their reward. [[spoiler:The world is real]].
97* EnterSolutionHere: Parodied. PS has previously seen a code written on a piece of paper (and the readers know it). But since it wasn't technically needed yet, the author forces the player to undergo several more rooms of [[BuffySpeak weird puzzle shit]] before he can re-read the note.
98-->''You vaguely recall seeing somewhere the sequence of symbols, STAR - HEART - HORSESHOE. However, you can't quite remember the symbols STAR - HEART - HORSESHOE. You will need the piece of paper with STAR - HEART - HORSESHOE written on it if you wish to remember the sequence STAR - HEART - HORSESHOE.''
99* EscapedFromHell: Parodied, where upon dying, characters are sent to the Afterlife (where they play various board games with Death), which they can simply [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist open the door to and return to the land of the living]], no "Fighting your way out" required (although Bumblebee Prof. gets sent to a different afterlife that doesn't seem escapable, and a more traditional FireAndBrimstoneHell is shown at some point). Later on, the door gets blocked, preventing any further escapes.
100* ExpositionFairy: The Infinite Summation Honeybee Professor appears and offers long winded pro-tips whenever one of the characters attempts to [[RecursiveReality break reality by shoving a portal through itself.]]
101* FantasticAngst: [[spoiler:A prolific businessman who runs a prosperous town with a wife and son, Ace Dick and his family are caught in a drive-by shooting. While AD manages to protect his son, his wife dies, and he and his son turn to vigilantism before [[QuestToTheWest going west]] to the open frontier in a covered wagon, leading to AD's son drowning in a river. Anguished, lost, and out of supplies, Ace Dick takes his own life. This all happens in an intense game of [[TabletopGame/GameOfLife Life]] played with [[ChessWithDeath Death]] casually to pass the time]].
102* FantasticDrug: Candy liquor. Not alcohol made with sugar or flavored to taste like candy, mind -- actual confections melted down and brewed like hooch. It's way more potent than regular alcohol, maxing out the drinker's Imagination stat immediately. In the imaginary world, this is represented by the drinker gaining godlike power and a rainbow aura.
103* FightWoosh: Going outside with a window unplugged makes the world become metaphorical for a moment. And then a Beast appears!
104* FighterMageThief:
105** Team Sleuth consists of an easily-riled stocky brawler, an imagination-wielding loon, and a dagger-throwing, smooth-talking speedy bastard.
106** Additionally, the whores collected by NB and HD become this.
107* FilmNoir: The series started out as a pastiche of this before things [[DenserAndWackier got considerably more zany]].
108* FinalBoss: The [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001069 battle]] with [[spoiler: Demonhead Mobster Kingpin spans over half the comic and]] parodies several boss battle tropes.
109* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mixed with CallBack due to the strip's improvisational nature.
110* FreudianTrio: The three detectives act as this.
111** Id: Ace Dick (brash, gluttonous and violent)
112** Ego: Problem Sleuth (charismatic jack-of-all-trades)
113** Superego: Pickle Inspector (highly intelligent and good at puzzles)
114* FriendlySniper: PI becomes one, which is vital to taking down MK.
115* {{Gamebooks}}: Parodied. Some pages offer a choice between two commands. The first one leads to a very obvious Game Over, while the second one advances the story.
116* {{Gaslighting}}: Doing this to the audience is a RunningGag introduced three pages in. Problem Sleuth is commanded to grab the gun sitting on his desk, but there is only a key, and there never was a gun. When he is commanded to pick up the key, he picks up the gun. All weapons in ''Problem Sleuth'' end up being keys or other tools that are replaced with weapons between pages.
117* TheGodsMustBeLazy: [[spoiler:GPI]] will only respond to the command "[[spoiler:Fondly regard creation]]". He actually does do two things, but those things are [[spoiler:create the universe via StableTimeLoop with the help of the temporally-replicating Pickle Inspectors and sewing the universe back together when it is torn apart]]. Never once does he directly help the protagonists, except for perhaps in [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001115 this]] instance.
118* GoodBadBugs: In-universe example. Every real weapon has a tendency to not be a weapon, and the Website/GameFaqs walkthrough consulted by Problem Sleuth confirms that its some sort or weird glitch in the game.
119* GoodOldFisticuffs: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000996 You call for a diplomatic laying down of arms]].
120* GravityIsAHarshMistress: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001058 You suddenly remember the universe is upside-down]]!
121* GridPuzzle: Wizard's Sudoku is a {{Calvinball}} game that combines Sudoku with improbable stuff like jousting and TabletopGame/{{chess}}. PI [[ChessWithDeath plays it with Death]] as one of the challenges to be beaten to achieve freedom.
122* GrievousHarmWithABody: AD attempts this with [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000978 BATTLE TECHNIQUE -> LV. 2 TORSO FLAIL]], but fails at even providing a DeliciousDistraction like with the original [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000436 Torso Flail]].
123* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Inverted; the main three male detectives start with guns, and the two female alter egos get melee weapons. Played straight with Mobster Kingpin's iron knuckles and when Nervous Broad gets her hands on the paint stripper.
124* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000374 The window loses it's extra-dimensional portal properties, and severs you mid-way through. You are dead]]."
125* HandCannon: The [[spoiler:Sniper's Sextant]] controls a giant cannon. Not a strict example, but a roundabout literal one.
126* HappyDance: Frequently. [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001030 THIS one is REALLY impressive]].
127* HardboiledDetective: The titular hero and his friends.
128* HardGay: ''Hunk Rump'', and, by extension, most of the gay porn magazines featured.
129-->''Sweet Jesus, that buttock. You could ricochet a quarter off that buttock and kill a man where he stands.''
130* HealingBoss: One of the many tropes uses it increasingly. Absurd JRPG boss fight is a regenerating health bar that compelled the three private investigators to find more and more ridiculous ways to hurt a mob boss turned OneWingedAngel.
131* HeroicSacrifice:
132** [[spoiler:[[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Sepulchritude]] was presented as one, but Sleuth survives it.]]
133** [[spoiler: The Collider of the Pickle Inspectors, where two Pickle Inspectors sacrifice their lives to inflict massive damage on Demonhead Mobster Kingpin's second form.]]
134* HighAltitudeBattle: The final battle against DMK takes place in the airspace [[spoiler: between the Imaginary City Streets and the Four Kingdoms.]]
135* HufflepuffHouse: The Clowns. While we learn quite a bit about the Elves (introducing us to the concept of Elemental items), the Weasels (recurring allies), and the pigs (Dick's Quest), the Clowns just show up when needed and otherwise give out Pie Fillings. We ''do'' know they were important to Mobster Kingpin's quest, but all of that was offscreen.
136* HumongousMecha: Made out of candy.
137* IFellForHours:
138** When characters fall, they sometimes have enough time to decide to "[[RunningGag fall in more [adjective] manner]]".
139--->''[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000647 PS]]: Quit falling and land already!''
140** In fact, [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000680 it took a cheat code that skipped hundreds of pages]] [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000682 for Pickle Inspector to finish falling]].
141* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Mobster Kingpin]] ends up falling onto the Ham Needle from a really large distance.
142* IncrediblyLamePun: [[spoiler:Fondly regard creation/crustacean/crenellation/donation]].
143** [[spoiler:Succumb to unfathomable bloodlust/bratwurst.]]
144** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000477 It has a HAIRPIN trigger]].
145** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001688 It could be that these are the one thousand angels which are said to dance on the head of a pin...]][[spoiler:[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001689 Or the head of a KINGPIN]]]].
146** You attempt to woo your fan by [[DoubleEntendre turning it on]].
147** The [[ExpositionFairy Infinite Summation Honeybee Professor]] peppers his speech with bee-related puns ("Avoid 1:1 duplications which will lead to unwelcome 100% matter accretions, and you'll keep ''hiving'' a ''honey'' of a time!") until he gets [[UnwantedAssistance muted]].
148--->''Very well, ''bee'' that way!\
149\
150Asshole!''
151** Then Honeybee Professor gets right back at it once he gets unmuted.
152--->''Once we have completed building your [[color:red:Impetus Comb]], and all of its [[color:red:Jocose Honey]] has ripened and is sweet as can ''bee'', that is when the fun ''bee''gins!!!''
153** And then there's [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001598 this]].
154* InteractiveComic: The TropeCodifier, as it pretty much refined the technique of ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' as a whole.
155* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: There are two ways to travel between the real world and the world of imagination: Either by climbing through a window, or entering a fort and imagining really hard (booze helps with the latter).
156* InterfaceScrew: The whole keys/gun thing mentioned above in GasLighting. Each of the three main characters and their female counterparts have a similar problematic weapon. It's supposedly a bug in the game that gets exploited for laughs and frustration. See also YouCantGetYeFlask below.
157* ItMakesSenseInContext:
158** "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000625 Appoint Pickle Inspector as chosen savior of the weasels]]."
159** "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001045 You cannot descend into the sky because the universe is not upside-down]]!!!"
160** "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001667 It's DMK's third and final face. He is more fearsome than ever, with THREE HEALTH METERS, and a deadly BLACK HOLE VERSION OF HIS NON-IMAGINARY SELF pulsing on top of his HAT]]."
161* {{Kevlard}}: Ace Dick's variation on the Auto-Parry technique involves taking the attack in the gut. Zombie Ace Dick extends this to taking attacks in his rotting body as a whole.
162* KitschCollection: Fancy Santas.
163* KleptomaniacHero: Your motto is "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000257 let no inventory go uncluttered]]".
164* LackOfImagination: PlayedForLaughs with Ace Dick, who has an extremely low Creativity stat, which is a minor problem that comes up occasionally. When he gets his EleventhHourSuperpower transformation, he ends up looking exactly the same because of his low Creativity
165* LampshadeHanging: "[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001416 You feel it is incredibly important that events in this adventure maintain strict adherence to the laws of physics, because it would just be so stupid if there were any inconsistencies]]."
166* LastBreathBullet: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000997 Zombie Hired Muscle heroically saves Problem Sleuth from the last of the Cultural Rainbow mob]].
167* LimitBreak: Charm Break, Comb Rave, Schema Form, Ostentation Drive, Murder Flux, Parliament Uproar. Some characters share a common limit break bar.
168* LiteralMetaphor: The Lazy Susan of Endowment seems like just another fake game mechanic used to initiate the previously mentioned [[LimitBreak Comb Rave]], but turns out there is a physical manifestation of it in the world. Mobster Kingpin [[ExploitedTrope exploits]] this by replacing one of its receptacles with the one that he uses, allowing his boss form to use his own super move.
169* LockedDoor: Almost all of them, except, ironically, [[spoiler:Death's door]].
170* LockedInARoom: Problem Sleuth and Ace Dick start out bitterly hating each other and both locked in their respective offices [[spoiler:and the game ends when they finally escape]].
171* MagikarpPower: Ace Dick has a special attack called the [[Film/TheGoonies Truffle Shuffle]], which has absolutely no effect and usually ends with him being killed. However, if he combines his Truffle Shuffle with one or more additional Ace Dicks, it can turn into an incredibly devastating attack.
172* MarathonBoss: The battle with DMK lasts for about half the duration of ''Problem Sleuth''.
173* MediumAwareness: Problem Sleuth is fully aware that he's in a video game. Whenever he's too lazy to put up with the webcomic's weird puzzle shit, he takes advantage of this knowledge by printing out cheat codes, re-loading save states, and looking up walkthroughs from Website/GameFaqs.
174* MightyGlacier: Pickle Inspector's "Tootsie Roll Frankenstein" transformation. Twice as strong as an actual glacier, but twice as slow, too!
175* MindScrew: It can become increasingly difficult to tell where (and when) everybody is. Summed up in this line: "You're not totally sure, but you think this means there are now three Ace Dicks running around."
176** MindScrewdriver: Thank goodness Godhead Pickle Inspector [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000843 explains it all]] at one point. He also thinks [[MST3KMantra you should just relax and have fun, and not worry too much about it]].
177** And then Death [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001330 provides a recap]] later.
178** And later there's one by [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001696 the Devil]].
179* MorphWeapon: All weapons exhibit object duality -- they double as an innocuous object that randomly switches from one form to another whether or not the user wants them to. For example, Pickle Inspector's Machine gun doubles as a hairpin, a tube of lipstick doubles as a chainsaw, and [[spoiler: Mobster Kingpin's brass knuckles double as the Megaton Key.]]
180* MundaneMadeAwesome: So very, very much.
181** Highlighted in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9LT4Kd1ETM Clip Show Tribute]], which takes all the frames of the entire comic and sets them to orchestral music.
182** Best example: [[spoiler:[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001731 DING]]]].
183* MythologyGag: Running gags from other games, such as:
184** Trusty knives.
185** ''Hunk Rump'' magazine.
186** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000605 The pumpkin]] doesn't count, because clearly there [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001295 is not]] and [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001256 has never been]] a pumpkin [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001298 there]].
187** [[LampshadeHanging You can't imagine]] [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001555 what could possibly go wrong]], unless you [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=1&p=000096 remember]] the [[NoodleIncident Unexplained Aftermath]] from ''[[SequelDisplacement Jailbreak]]''. This is [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001577 followed by]] [[HomageShot a series of homages]] to ''Webcomic/BardQuest'' (each linked in the description texts).
188* NamelessNarrative: Many of the characters are only referred to by their titles. The only exceptions to this are Madame Murel, The Midnight Crew and possibly Death.
189* NiceJobBreakingItHero: DMK and BHMK never would have formed as they did if not for Fiesta Ace Dick's actions.
190* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Pickle Inspector is the nice of the bunch, being a generally polite and affable fellow. The brutish Ace Dick lacks manners and falls into being the meanest one. Problem Sleuth is a smooth talker who is capable of convincing people with his charisma, but isn't particularly polite, so he's the in-between.
191* NoFourthWall: On a couple of occasions the characters look up an FAQ for the game on [=GameFAQs=] and input cheat codes to bypass certain parts of the "game".
192** At one point in the game, Ace Dick beats someone to death [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000721 with a stat meter]].
193** When DMK's final form starts generating additional life bars, Problem Sleuth starts physically attacking the life bars.
194* NonStandardGameOver:
195-->''[[https://www.homestuck.com/extras/16 Sunglass-Free Stiller Bust: Emerge from the tear in space-time, floating slowly and eerily towards the viewer]].''
196* OminousLatinChanting: "Fast-paced organ music and a haunting vocal chorus accompanies your epic struggle."
197* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:It's MK's hideous ultimate form, DEMONHEAD MOBSTER KINGPIN]].
198* OntologicalMystery: When you boil down the plot, the characters are trapped in their office building[[note]]and the imaginary world, which together form a very large ClosedCircle[[/note]] and need to learn how to use their environment[[note]]Despite being trapped in his own office, Problem Sleuth knows remarkably little about it[[/note]] in order to escape.
199* OppositeSexClone: Subverted. Ace Dick had too little imagination for a DistaffCounterpart, and instead just became a clone of himself with a blonde wig/Prussian Picklehaube.
200* PaperThinDisguise: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001398 A quick change in headgear makes all the difference.]]
201* ThePenIsMightier: The Tectrix of the Arbitor has item confusion with the legendary [[CoolSword TECTRIXCALIBUR]].
202* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Pickle Inspector]] ascends to godhood at one point. [[spoiler:One of many Pickle Inspectors]].
203* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Problem Sleuth, Ace Dick, and Pickle Inspector are all supposedly detectives, though the story really has next to nothing that involves solving crimes and what not.
204* PlotCoupon: Anything can be a PlotCoupon...even your own ''skull''.
205* PortalCut: What happens if a window loses power while something is in it.
206* PortalNetwork: What would at first appear to be what is outside Problem Sleuth's window.
207* PornStash: Gay porn stash. Problem Sleuth seems to have a tendency to be keeping ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hunk Rump]]'' magazine somewhere nearby.
208* PotHole: "[[spoiler:[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001649 Death throws down his hat in disappointment]]]]. He really must remember to invest in stronger [[http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=woodwind%20instruments security measures]] for [[spoiler:the afterlife]]."
209* PowerGivesYouWings: [[spoiler:Problem Sleuth gains a pair of wings upon using Sepulchritude]].
210* PowerLevels: Understandable in the sense that this IS an RPG.
211* PowerTrio: Early on before the cast expands, the three detectives act as this.
212* PrettyLittleHeadshots: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000997 Dramatic variant]].
213* PrivateEyeMonologue: Parodied in several [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000263 places]], [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001889 including the epilogue]].
214-->''This is what being a [[HardboiledDetective hard boiled problem sleuth]] is all about. It's about being a strong, silent type, oozing with confidence, charisma, and other fine qualities such as not being trapped in your own office. It's about having a working phone. A real desk. Not one, but two steak dinners. And some hysterical broad on the line, yackin' about some fella she's got troubles with. It's always the same thing with dames. You comfort yourself in your sublime fantasy by now and then saying things into the phone such as, "Now calm down a second, toots..." and "Hey, take it easy, sweetheart. I can barely understand a word you're sayin'..."''
215* PungeonMaster: Honeybee Professor makes a bee pun during every opportunity he gets. It's a good thing you get the option to mute him.
216* PuppetGun: Pickle Inspector aims the CLOCK TOWER SNIPER CANNON via the SNIPER RIFLE.
217* PurelyAestheticEra: Problem Sleuth is supposed to be set in TheRoaringTwenties, but you wouldn't know that if they didn't mention bootlegging and Prohibition. At one point PS looks up a solution to a puzzle on ''[=GameFAQs=]''.
218* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Any antagonist worth their salt is shrouded with black when they use their powers. [[spoiler:Black Hole Mobster Kingpin and higher forms]] are depicted as black but shoot out purple, and the Midnight Crew's shadow powers are stated to be black but are depicted as a mix of black and purple.
219* RandomizedDamageAttack: The Catenative Doomsday Dice Cascader is a machine that uses a process of dice-rolling to determine the damage it deals. First, a central dice is rolled to decide how many of the six others will be rolled to determine the actual damage. All the selected dice are then rolled, and each result is multiplied by the previous total to determine the sides of the next die (for instance, if the centra die rolls a six and the second one a two, all further dice have twelve sides; if the third rolls a seven then all further dice will have ninety-six sides, and so on). This can end with a final with a monstrous number of sides, which is then rolled to determine how much damage is dealt to the target. The Cascader is used in [[https://www.homestuck.com/extras/20 a non-canon strip against the Midnight Crew]], ending with a final die with over fifty trillion sides. It rolls a one.
220* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Parodied; Sleuth gives Kingpin a "Scathing" letter letting him know how much the tyrant's been infuriating the heroes, but it's little more than a short note full of grade school taunts. [[WeaksauceWeakness It's still enough to make him reel from the burn]].
221* RecapEpisode: Two of them (the first one by Death, [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001696 the second one]] by the Devil), and a third one on the wiki.
222* RedHerring: Several items are presented to the reader as possible scopes for the SNIPER RIFLE before Pickle Inspector finally gets one.
223-->''The Swain makes a valiant play for his eyepiece, which in no way shape or form could ever be used in conjunction with a sniper rifle, and possibly could serve as one of numerous red herrings to this effect.''
224* RevealShot: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001689 Technically]] a CloseupOnHead, at least by name.
225* RolePlayingGameVerse: All of the detectives and the Mobster Kingpin have (weirdly named) stats and hitpoints--towards the end more and more bizarre bonus powers also appear.
226** Imagination: Magic, intelligence, and bonus to power in Imaginary areas.
227** Pulchritude: Evasion and Diplomacy/Charisma.
228** Vim: Strength and Health.
229** Each also has a expendable item that temporarily boosts it much in the manner of potions. Imagination is boosted by alcohol, Pulchritude is boosted by candy, and Vim is boosted by hotsauce. Early in the game, Vim is boosted by [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000337 coffee,]] so really any hot drink will do.
230* RubeGoldbergDevice: A puzzle so particularly difficult that it's solved by loading a save state from a point after the puzzle is solved. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that a time traveling Pickle Inspector did it]].
231* RunningGag: Items switching back and forth between weapons and completely unrelated objects (e.g., a revolver becoming keys or a chainsaw becoming lipstick), responding to characters attempting to ride something like a mechanical bull (at times something about to explode) with "Wow, what a fucking waste of time!" and weasels "flipping the fuck out".
232** Business cards loaded with DoubleEntendre. [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000457 Subverted with Glass Blowers, Inc]].
233** Ace Dick punches X in the snout to establish superiority. Xhearst is particularly enamored by your rowdy, no-nonsense brand of ruffianism.
234** Ace Dick's astonishing lack of imagination to the point where all of his alter egos are just him.
235** And of course: "Quickly retrieve arms from [X]." "You've already got arms, [another word for idiot]!"
236** "Throw hat down in disgust."
237* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: "Complain that the MASS of the OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE is only thought to be 3x10^52kg.\
238DMMK, at 100x10^100kg, weighs about thirty trillion trillion trillion trillion times MORE than the MASS of the OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE."
239** Reply from Creator/AndrewHussie:
240--->'' Actually this sort of bothers me too. The bottom line is I just started rattling off numbers without even realizing how big I was making them. A while ago I went back and changed the volume exponent, just so the number wouldn't indicate that he was almost infinitely tiny. I left the mass as it was, because I didn't think it mattered too much if it was just indicated as "VERY BIG". [[{{Foreshadowing}} But I might go back and just delete the exponents altogether, and just string more zeros after base of "10". It's safe to say that with the numbers as they are now, MK would be the biggest black hole in the universe]].''
241** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001747 The universe is becoming a rather crowded place]].''
242* SelfDisposingVillain: While DMK is dispatched by the heroes during an extensive BossBattle, [[spoiler:Mobster Kinpin himself doesn't get defeated by the sleuths. Instead, he gets accidentally pushed through his gravity corset by the moon, ejected from his black hole, and falls to his death, where he is gruesomely impaled on the Ham Needle.]]
243* SerialEscalation: How utterly ridiculous can the game mechanics get? How ridiculously powerful can the cast's attacks get? Answer: very.
244* SeriousBusiness: Any and all forms of [[ChessWithDeath anything but chess with Death]]. Such as [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001078 Sudoku]].
245* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Newly-introduced names take on more and more of this further as the game gets along.
246* ShoutOut:
247** [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Get ye flask]].
248** PS: Webcomic/CtrlAltDel. [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000788 GAME FUCKING OVER]] May also qualify as a TakeThat.
249** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000871 You're here for two things]]: [[Film/TheyLive to fucking ruin someone's shit, and to play a friendly game of make-believe]]. [[VideoGame/DukeNukem3D AND YOU'RE ALL OUT OF IMAGINATION]].
250** And let's not forget our history! It comes, of course, in the form of a delightfully charming [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000975 KATE BEATON-style comic]].
251** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001008 Death plays]] [[Literature/HarryPotter Wizard's Sudoku]] with one of the characters.
252** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001327 Summon Moe]].
253** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001383 One of the scythe's forms]] is ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics''' T-Rex, after Ryan North's praise of ''MSPA''.
254** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001403 Another form the scythe takes]] is the head of Manny Calavera from ''VideoGame/GrimFandango''.
255** The Space Whale and "This all seems highly, highly improbable." [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Guess]].
256** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001629 LV. 4 HOOPTECH]]--[[VideoGame/KatamariDamacy DMMK KATAMARI BALL]]
257** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001514 You got the CHRONOSCOPE!!]] '''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda ARGH LAME PARODY DUMB]]'''
258** [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher Ace Dick]] and [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Bathearst]].
259** Ace Dick and Bathearst head out West in the board game ''Life'', shifting an unnamed parody of ''VideoGame/TheOregonTrail''.
260** When the [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001561 Dapper Gentlemen are beating up Fiesta Mobster Kingpin]], the narration launches into "A British Tar" from ''Theatre/HMSPinafore''.
261* SilentProtagonist: There's not a lot of dialogue in this game.
262* SingleTear: Death sheds a tear of black liquid sorrow on two occasions: a tear of awe when PI solves a puzzle, and a tear of mourning when he loses his scythe.
263* SinisterScythe: [[TheGrimReaper Death's scythe]], which Problem Sleuth borrows for a while. It [[MorphWeapon transforms]] into (among others) a rocket launcher, an F-16 fighter jet, a [[Webcomic/DinosaurComics T-Rex]], and an [[NuclearOption atomic bomb]].
264* SniperRifle: The [[spoiler:SNIPER'S SEXTANT]].
265* SoftReset: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000617 When prompted]], selecting the command to press the shoulder buttons, start, and select will take you to the title screen. Then you have to start the entire comic all over again.
266* SolveTheSoupCans: More and [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000604 more weird puzzle shit]] as the story progresses. The Moonlight Sonata piano from VideoGame/ResidentEvil makes a cameo.
267* SpaceWhale: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001551 Harpooned]].
268* StartScreen:
269** Can only be accessed if you select the path for a non-standard game over via a soft reset.
270** In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', clicking on the Problem Sleuth [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=6&p=001931 game cartridge]] boots up the [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/extras/PS_titlescreen/ start screen, complete with a theme tune]].
271* StatMeters: Not merely an abstraction.
272* StronglyWordedLetter: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001732 Problem Sleuth sends one to Mobster Kingpin.]]
273* SuperMovePortraitAttack:
274** Sleuth Diplomacy is structured like one of these, with a quick-moving background and a zoomed-in pose.
275** The introductions of the Gambit Schema make them sort of like Epic Move Portrait Attacks.
276* SuperSentaiStance: ...because SHIT JUST GOT REAL.
277* StairwayToHeaven: [[spoiler:DMK: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001744 LADDER TO HELL]]]]
278* StoutStrength: Ace Dick and his various forms, as well as Mobster Kingpin.
279* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: A command suggested switching hats with an enemy to disguise Problem Sleuth, but to no avail. [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001398 Later]], Mobster Kingpin does this successfully.
280* SummonMagic:
281** You do not have enough [[PlotCoupon ELF TEARS]] to summon the [[FisherKing WEASEL KING]]!
282** SUMMON HENRY CLAY
283** You call forth the blistering white hot fury that is [[ShoutOut MOE]].
284** [[UselessUsefulSpell You unsummon MOE]]. MOE will be of absolutely no use to you in this battle whatsoever.
285** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001014 MK: SUMMON WILFORD BRIMLEY]]
286* SwissArmyTears: Elf tears.
287* {{Thememobile}}: The whore-mobile.
288* ThemeTable: Each detective has a certain body type (which in turn are each associated with a type of food, a truck carrying that food, and a district of the city that is named after the makers of that food, a gentleman with some sort of optical accessory, and a room in the Sleazy Brothel in the sky), an office, something keeping them from escaping their office, a different kind of window/portal to the World of Imagination, a stat in which they excel, a standard weapon/key, a candy weapon, a type of candy armor, a SuperMode based on both a classic movie monster and type of candy, a DistaffCounterpart (each of which have their own weapon/other object, two of which get a weapon/object used in painting and a undergarment that warps their physical properties, and one of which is just a clone of one of the detectives wearing a wig), an ultimate move, and a non-human race they go on a quest for (each of which terrorizes another of the races somehow, and each of which has some kind of emissary and a champion that represents a [[FantasyCharacterClasses Fantasy Character Class]]). Mobster Kingpin gets in on most of this as well.
289* TimeTravel: [[spoiler:Pickle Inspector, [[SerialEscalation to downright incredible levels]].]]
290* TransformationSequence:
291** [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001043 An incredible transmutation takes place]] when [[spoiler:Ace Dick]] becomes [[spoiler:Fiesta Ace Dick]].
292** [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], when [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001717 Ace Dick]] becomes... [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001718 Ace Dick]]]].
293* TheTreacheryOfImages: The window on Problem Sleuth's front door quickly turns out to just be a piece of paper taped to it. Inverted with Ace Dick, when the piece of paper taped to his door turns out to be an actual window. Then we get Pickle Inspector punching through his window, thinking it's paper... which turns out to have no glass at all, [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} just a hole with some floating letters connected to an elf's elevator shaft.]]
294* TurnsRed:
295** [[spoiler:Ace Dick]] does this literally when he becomes [[spoiler:Fiesta Ace Dick]] in the TransformationSequence linked immediately above.
296** When the final boss is down to his last Health Aegis, he gains an extra health bar (for a total of three bars), instantaneous regeneration, and more aggressive attacks. When he's brought down to his final health bar, [[spoiler: he spawns an excessive number of health bars]], to the dismay of the MSPA readers.
297* UnstoppableRage: "The [Weasel] Emissary [[RunningGag flips the fuck out]]!"
298* UnusualEuphemism: All of Problem Sleuth's gun attacks are named for negotiation techniques-the longer and more complicated, the more powerful.
299* UselessUsefulSpell: [[SwallowedWhole BELLY OF THE WHALE!!!]] Ace Dick's Operandi is basically an instant-KO move, swallowing the enemy whole...the only problem is that, whenever it's used, it's either completely ineffective or simply extorted and turned against him. The only time it ''DID'' work was [[ItMakesSenseInContext when he used it to swallow himself]].
300* VictoryPose: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001030 Victory dance]]!
301* VisualPun: The typewriter/tommygun [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001736 used near the end of the comic]]. Another nickname for the tommygun is the Chicago Typewriter.
302* VillainProtagonist: Mobster Kingpin takes user commands just like the three detectives.
303* WaveMotionGun: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001793 The most recent instance]].
304* WeaksauceWeakness: Mobster Kingpin is completely invulnerable to all harm...until his Emotions or Blood Sugar are raised.
305* WeakSpot: [[spoiler:DMK's [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001281 NETHER-REGIONAL VULNERABULB]] blooms]], briefly exposing his WEAK SPOT.
306* WebcomicPrintCollection: The entire comic has been compiled into 5 volumes at Topatoco.com, with commentary and a foreword by [[Webcomic/DinosaurComics Ryan North]] as well as several notes from the author. Sadly, they've all gone out of print.
307* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The (Zombie) Hired Muscle stops appearing after his death, not even in the afterlife like many of the other deceased characters, though the character Higgs Bonehead bears a resemblance to him, and the gentlemen encounter a mustachioed new gentleman who looks a lot like the HM at the end.
308* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The epilogue shows what the characters of the Imaginary Realm are up to. [[spoiler: Meanwhile, Team Sleuth is finally free to roam the Real City Streets and do some sleuthing.]]
309* WickedWeasel: Weasels comprise one of the Four Kingdoms. Pickle Inspector is their chosen saviour, and they are quite susceptible to flipping the fuck out.
310* AWinnerIsYou: When the Labrynthine Sudocube Comprehensile is finally solved once and for all, it appears in Death's hands saying, "You're a winner!"
311* WorldOfChaos: The world accessed through desk forts and window portals.
312* WorldsStrongestMan: Ace Dick. Fiesta Ace Dick is stronger than that.
313* WrittenSoundEffect: [[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=000222 Thud]].
314* YouCantGetYeFlask:
315** Averted, since the command parser is a person. You DO get ye flask!
316** Sometimes, the game refuses to acknowledge the existence of the pumpkin you're trying to get.
317--->''What pumpkin?''\
318\
319''[[https://www.homestuck.com/?s=4&p=001298 THIS FUCKING PUMPKIN]]''
320----
321! > Continue searching for tropes.
322[[index]]
323'''[[Characters/ProblemSleuth > Look over collection of business cards.]]'''\
324'''[[YMMV/ProblemSleuth > Give 'em your two spondulicks.]]'''\
325'''[[Trivia/ProblemSleuth > Relay frivolous knowledge.]]'''\
326'''[[Laconic/ProblemSleuth > Examine NOTE OF CONCISION.]]'''\
327
328'''[[WMG/ProblemSleuth > Decipher plot using enigma machine.]]'''\
329'''[[Headscratchers/ProblemSleuth > Attempt to remedy story-induced headaches.]]'''\
330'''[[Fridge/ProblemSleuth > Ogle the refrigerator open.]]'''\
331[[/index]]
332
333'''[[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} Next.]]'''
334----
335-->'''[[http://andrewhussie.blogspot.com/2009/03/end-of-problem-sleuth.html 03/10/08 - 03/10/09]]'''
336-->3 detectives
337-->365 days
338-->1621 pages
339-->1915 images
340-->142 megabytes
341-->45,000 words
342-->0 sacred urns toppled
343-->0 mystic ruins desecrated
344-->0 hallowed tombs defiled
345-->--'''Creator/AndrewHussie'''
346----
347[-'''[[Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures Start Over]] | [[Webcomic/BardQuest Go Back]]'''-][[labelnote:*]][-'''Save Game (?) | Auto-Save! (?) | Load Game | Delete Game Data'''-][[/labelnote]]

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