Trickster Mode

The Trickster Mode Easter Egg available during a few of the interactive Flash animations was programmed by Alexis 'Gankro' Beingessner. Originally appearing in HS 2153 (John's exploration) of his house after he wakes up in The Medium, it makes a return in the first HS 2297 (Shale Imp Strife). Several assets are swapped in Trickster Mode, such as swapping John Egbert for something generally foolish.

Accessing Trickster Mode
Make sure the interactive Flash has focus (click on it). On Windows and Linux, press Ctrl + T. On Mac OS X, press ⌘+ T. If attempting this opens a new tab in your browser, press Ctrl + Shift + T or ⌘+ Shift + T instead (respectively). Ctrl + T also works under Mac OS X for the most recent interactive segments (starting with Alterniabound). If none of these commands work, try Ctrl + Alt + T.

Trickster mode can also be deactivated with the same key combination. However, deactivating Trickster Mode while in an impossible location, such as Problem Sleuth's office or while on a wall, can crash your browser.

The Medium
Upon entering Trickster Mode, the Kernelsprite is swapped for the floating head of Andrew Hussie and John colorized with orange hair (which also has a lollipop stuck to it.) John himself is placed under the floor and is blurred from view. The background music is also changed to &quot;Harlequin&quot;.

Free exploration is allowed in this Trickster Mode. Hidden in the Backyard is access to the Problem Sleuth's Office (which can be accessed via the chimney) as well as a window with a pumpkin spray painted beneath it. There is also a notice in the top right corner which reads "Gankro Was Not Here", which is upside-down. In the grass by this window is the "Trickster Code" written in Morse Code. Attempting to switch back to regular mode inside Problem Sleuth's office wall will sometimes freeze your browser (this glitch may have been fixed).

Shale Imp Strife
When accessing Trickster Mode, a prompt will appear for the "Trickster Code." The Trickster Code is 024913, translated from Morse Code in the previous Trickster Mode. It is also the code for the safe in the Study. Upon entering Trickster Mode, John dons a Link attire complete with the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. A Kernelsprite also appears, who looks similar to the Windmill Hut man. The Shale Imp is exchanged for a recursive John monstrosity, a "Johnstrosity", if you will.

Upon weakening the monstrosity, John and the Shale Imp revert back to their original assets. The Windmill Hut Kernelsprite remains however.

Land of Wind and Shade
It is not actually possible to enter Trickster Mode in this segment, but attempting to do so will elicit a reaction from John.

Alterniabound
When activated in Alterniabound, Trickster Mode will cause a picture of a strange female John to appear (a John version of Vriska), and a variant of Totaka's Song will start to play. The active character will then be transported with a Chrono Trigger "Gate" effect to the Jidoor Relic shop (from Final Fantasy VI). Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo from Earthbound are at the side and Gamzee is dancing behind the counter of the shop. Interacting with Gamzee activates a sound test mode that allows one to hear twelve songs, including some used directly in the flash and others added only as a special feature. After leaving the room, the characters will continue to be transported with the Chrono Trigger gate effect whenever they use a Transportalizer. Activating Trickster Mode again will undo this effect.

[S] John: Enter Village
When activated in the mushroom farm area, a prompt with the phrase "pap:nak ::" appears. If one correctly finishes the analogy with "shoosh:doof", John mystically turns into Dave, drawn in the style of pixel artist Paul Robertson. Holding down the spacebar fills up his "Mangrit Vial." When the spacebar is released, Dave performs an attack which can be used to temporarily trap the imp in time. Press the Trickster Mode key combination again to go back to being John. Leaving the area will also let you be John again, but upon returning to it he will still be Dave until the mode is deactivated.

[S] Kanaya: Return to the Core
Similar to Alterniabound, pressing Ctrl+T teleportalizes you to the exact same room, only with Sollux standing around thrusting in his battle animation(from the same flash) instead of Gamzee dancing. In addition he only has one song, Heir Conditioning. The NPCs in the area complain about only having one song, and miss the clown. Pressing Ctrl+T teleportalizes you back to the game, with the music for whatever character you were.

There is, however, a quick, easy-to-perform glitch that can allow you to walk around the lab with Heir Conditioning playing in the background instead of the character's song. You start by transportalizing your character into the secret room. Walk up to the Sollux behind the counter. Press space to open up the music menu. With the menu still open, press Ctrl+T. Your character should transportalize back to the lab, with the menu still visible. Select the song. Every now and then, this glitch fails to work, usually due to pressing the space bar too soon after pressing Ctrl+T. The music will revert back to character's original music if you switch characters, in which case you will have to repeat the 5-second process all over.

[S] Equius: Seek the highb100d
It is not actually possible to enter Trickster Mode in this segment, but attempting to do so will cause a box that reads "nope fuck this I don't care" to appear. The command subsequently does not work in the following exploration-style flash, although the room still exists within the flash file.

[S] Terezi: Read Note
There isn't actually a trickster mode in this flash file (that is known, anyway.) However, in this flash, Terezi falls through a trap door and lands in the FF6 shop, and music from Secret of Mana begins to play. The room apparently exists in canon.

Known Trickster Modes
HS 2153 (The Medium)

HS 2297 (Shale Imp Strife)

HS 003258 (Land of Wind and Shade)

HS 4692 (Alterniabound)

HS 4979 ([S] John: Enter Village)

HS 5221 ([S] Kanaya: Return to the core.)

HS 5338 ([S] Equius: Seek the highb100d)