#Source: alien-memes

[incorrectresidentalien]

[ashelin-lordshenblog]

Po: Do you ever meditate?

Lord Shen: By meditate, do you mean sit peacefully and think of all the people I want to kill? Yes, I like it very much.

[incorrect-alnst]

Mizi: [sees Hyuna lying on the couch] Are you alright?

Hyuna: I have this headache that comes and goes.

Luka: [steps into the room]

Hyuna: There it is again.

[snowflakethewise]

The Night of Fireflies.

Made this. Hope you enjoy.

[ismellpestilence]

By romance/sex I mean canon relationships that occur in the media you consume. Shipping characters who are obvious love interests doesn't count as fanon shipping.

For the purposes of this poll, pick the answer that is closest to how you feel. If you feel mostly one way but there's a tiny exception, ignore that exception.

[momomogos]

*Break the water surface

The original clip is probably: his own light reflects from the skin to the water surface, outlining his soft blue outline, which rises slowly, gently, quietly from the water. You looked along the glowing blue smooth curve until you finally saw him one-a pair of ruby-colored eyes staring straight from the water.

[A?MLTYT au by @helpmeimawkwardbutfun]

This is a great word game! You get to explore an alien planet! Cuddle up and fall asleep with the alien boys! The link is here!

I'm not the author, the author is @helpmeimawkwardbutfun !!

I just wanted to do something about it out of spontaneity!I want this wonderful game to be seen by more people!

[SUN/MOON] Character Reference Sheet

[Y/N] Character Reference Sheet

There are character reference design Sheets I made for this game out of challenge and for my own amusement! I got the idea and design from @helpmeimawkwardbutfun! I just added some of my thoughts and preferences while keeping the description of the game itself as close as possible! I thank her for her help! I did have a lot of questions while designing that she helped answer and solve! I love how talented and enthusiastic she is!

（As always, I can't get the naff's SJ au out of my head, and I don't want yn to be bald, so draw it this way）

I have to thank my inspirations :[Sources of Light/Signs of Life created by @jackofallrabbits]

I might not have even finished the design without the inspiration of her writing. I was reading these two great drama-filled novels even before I learned about the game! 

I was also very highly recommended to check out jack's writing when I was chatting with the game writer!!!! So I'm here to highly recommend her work again! Click here to check it out!

*Is there anything better than hugging three boys together?

(I don't know how it will develop in the future lololo just the night before, she talked to me about some interesting things, so with this meme~~)

Here's a close-up: 

oops, there's also a costume reference version!

[SUN/MOON] CLOTHES Reference Sheet

*As well as there is a Chinese version! Click here to play!

The Chinese version of the project originated from an ASK from me, and I didn't realize that just 6 hours after I asked the question, bean released the Chinese version of the game and left me a message!!!! I really feel very thankful for that! There are no words to express my gratitude!

As well as please ask @helpmeimawkwardbutfun more questions! She deserves more love and kisses!

[evilminji]

You know what seriously doesn't get played with enough?

In the grand, shared, doll set of Danny Phantom?

The cultural alienation.

Is Danny up to date on Human Memes? Did he see that movie? Hear about that celebrity drama? He lives here, amongst us, WITH us. But? Feels... half out of the loop.

And? He can't SHARE his passions with us.

Is he REALLY gonna show his new lecture buddy that hot new Kryptonian Sci-fi series he picked up from the Zone's nearest mega market bookstore? Invite a neighbor over for some sparkling ectoplasm laced soda and a binge of this cool Alien animated film from a long dead planet's artist guild? They're trying new mediums, apparently! Danny thinks it's pretty cool, he hopes they make more.

Oh, but maybe he can talk about games!

Except he switched to the technologically far more advanced Z-Held, years ago. They have literally billions of billions of options, since every game maker in their region of the Zone designs for it. Has for millennia.

....music?

Ghost speak either creeps people out or actually hurts to hear, if they listen too long. And "normal" music... feels so FLAT. Emotionless. Yeah, he'll LISTEN... smile and agree it sound nice. But it's... it's so bland? Less then bland.

He can't even share his food! It's a one way trip to ER! If not the morgue. Half his spices are FROM the Zone now. And Zone plants? Heeeeeella poisonous to humans. Tasty af to HIM, but... yeah. No sharing.

So like... what does that LEAVE him? Dance? Hobbies? Sam n Tucker he can share his REAL interests with, but... they went to different colleges. And protecting people isn't a hobby. It's more of a Gotta, you know? He ALSO can't join any space related clubs because now he knows WAY too much about Space.

Like "above civilian clearance, no one on this planet should know that" a lot.

He gets distracted. Too excited. He KNOWS himself.

He would totally ramble on about Space.

He's a Fenton, man. It's genetic.

So... he's lonely. Adrift. A sad, sad, semi-feral noodle of a man. And you know who would never let that stand? Who also wants to know what THE FUCK he's listen too, because it's both giving him a headache and creeping him out? Kon.

This dude reminds him of Tim. Complete with the feral energy and fluffy hair. *snaps pick* lol, bro, is you. ANYWAY, this guy? Apparently the source of the Kent family splitting migraines. That sound has been KILLING them. They need to get this guy better headphones. Aliens gotta stick together, you know? Time to go make friends.

*floats over in his shades n leather jacket* Sup~!

[muletia]

𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 — [𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏] ⊹₊⟡⋆

[tfp] yandere!soundwave x human!reader

summary: you were meant to be just a bargaining chip for the decepticons, someone who could be easily discarded. but soundwave has other plans for you. (consider this snippet as a base for further stories.)

cw: obsessed!soundwave, kidnapping, isolation, stockholm syndrome?? not really but reader does have a soft spot for him, reader's pov, soundwave is fucking terrifying, this is just an excuse to write about soundwave interacting with you lmao

word count: 750

[part 2]

The automatic doors hissed open, announcing the arrival of the owner of these small quarters. You lifted your head from the tablet, wanting to confirm that your routine remained unbroken — that you would survive one more day. Seeing the familiar silhouette, you exhaled in relief. The same titan as always had returned. You’d live to see tomorrow.

“Hi,” you greeted, well aware you’d never receive a verbal response. The titan was fiercely silent.

He nodded, and that was the end of your “conversation.”

Your interactions hadn’t always been like this. They weren’t always this warm. Going from trembling in fear at just the sight of him to saying “good morning” of your own free will had taken some time. Not that you had much choice in terms of social interactions, which the reptilian part of your brain still craved. You’d only seen other members of his species once, on the day of your abduction. Accepting that this was now your life, indefinitely, hadn’t been easy, but after many months, you’d adjusted. Humans were made to adapt to new conditions, and you were no exception. The will to live had won.

You returned to reading an e-book on your tablet (a reward for good behavior) but quickly paused, noticing the robot had stopped at the desk, right by the small corner arranged just for you. You looked up—he seemed to be looking straight at you. Even with the screen covering his face, you could feel his optics on you.

He was enormous, terrifying, and the lack of human-like facial features, which you’d noticed on others, only heightened the fear factor. He looked like a xenomorph. But your alien was real. And he wanted something from you.

“What’s up?” you asked, uncertainly.

He moved his hand, slowly, calculatedly, and pointed at the tablet as if he genuinely cared about what you were doing, as if he cared about your existence. By now, you understood perfectly what he meant, having gone through this countless times when he returned to you after a few, sometimes several, hours of absence. This was your little ritual, a remnant of normalcy in a world where nothing was normal.

“I didn’t manage to read much,” you sighed. He tilted his head slightly. It was almost cute. Almost. “I just can’t concentrate today. I’m having kind of a rough day.”

It would certainly be better if you were spending your time at home, with family and friends, rather than as the pet of your captor, but of course, you couldn’t say that to him. Not when you’d worked so hard for the privilege of a tablet and your own little human corner.

“But it’s nothing big,” you continued, fearing he’d decide it was his fault. “Humans sometimes have days like this. Tomorrow should be better.”

He shook his head.

Did he not believe you? That was a terrifying thought, one with unpleasant consequences, and it sparked a flash of fear. Fortunately, that spark faded as quickly as it had appeared when an image popped up on his face — a silly meme of a cat holding a rose with hearts around it. You stared at the absurd sight for a moment, trying— and failing —to understand where, why, or how. Finally, you gave up. Laughter escaped you for the first time in a very, very long time. You knew you shouldn’t be laughing; this creature should never be a source of comfort, shouldn’t make you feel better by doing the bare minimum of showing you a silly meme made by some grandma.

But, unfortunately, he succeeded. For the first time in a long time, you didn’t feel so miserable, so pathetic and dull. You felt human.

“Okay, that was actually funny.”

The cat was replaced by a smiling face. His strange, flat hand moved toward you, but slowly, so as not to scare you. A slender finger stroked your head, gently, with silent affection, then slid down to your chin. It lingered there. The gesture was almost romantic as if performed by a lover rather than a giant, silent robot. The image on his face flickered, showing another picture—a heart.

There were so many things you didn’t know about this being. You didn’t know his motives or intentions, the reasons for his actions. You didn’t know what he was or what else he was capable of. But this intention was unmistakable.

Beneath his tenderness, beneath every gentle gesture, laid feelings for you. And that was more terrifying than unfamiliarity — because now you knew you’d never escape this place. You'd never escape him.

this is what he showed you btw:

[lets-try-some-writing]

Been seeing a lot of "Aliens discovering the indomitable human spirit wasn't a myth" and "aliens seeing what adrenaline does for a human" memes recently and I would actually like to see Team Prime's reaction to what adrenaline is.

Like they see Jack carrying an unconscious Raf to safety despite having a broken leg and cracked ribs and the Bots are like "How tf are you still standing? How are you not in agony?"

I imagine that Cybertronians have a similar response, a fight or flight type series of codes that can temporarily give them ways to break their natural limits. However, unlike humans, I do imagine it takes a LOT more to reach that point. When a bot Limit Breaks, it often quite literally tears them to pieces and is agonizing in the extreme. They get momentary emergency power, but it is not pleasant and often means that something Very Bad has happened.

As such, seeing Jack, Miko, and Rafael have bursts of adrenaline on any given day would scare the absolute crap out of the team. Limit Breaking is dangerous and reserved for life or death situations. For the children to enter that state at all would be horrifying. They wouldn't be concerned with how Jack and the rest are still standing. Instead, it would be a lot more of "find the source of the problem Right This Instant or else we are going to have to plan a funeral."

The bots are only further convinced that humans are very fragile because of how often humans can experience adrenaline. It isn't normal for them, and thus they have come to believe that humanity is simply always on the brink of expiring at any given moment. Optimus and Ratchet are a tad more dubious about the potential lethality of this adrenaline thing considering how often the humans seem to walk it off. But the team are convinced.

Bumblebee, Arcee, and Bulkhead are stressed beyond words whenever they catch the kids heart rates jumping too much.

[incorrectresidentalien]

[ms-demeanor]

So there's this stucky fanfic blog (leave me alone, i hate marvel movies and like it when blonde men are bleeding; see also my recent interest in dungeon meshi) that I used to follow that had some major mod drama and basically stopped posting in 2020. I still get it as a recommended blog when I'm scrolling pretty regularly.

Here's what its archive looked like very recently:

Aaaand here's what its archive looked like starting November 3rd:

It is a compendium of the most absolutely rancid shitlib takes available and is going to be GENUINELY useful for a research project i'm working on because I periodically see these things float across my dash but I don't follow enough people who engage with these kind of posts to know what's a good source of them.

I only noticed it in the first place because it popped up as a recommended blog with a picture of trump, whereas normally when i see it recommended it's old fic or fanart.

Anyway, I'm torn between which of these two posts I scrolled past at a glance are my favorite. This one agitating about why censorship is good, actually and the government should ban tiktok (if you don't know why it's a bad thing to set a precedent that the US government bans the use of specific app I just can't help you, i'm sorry, even if you think tiktok is bad you shouldn't want the government banning apps) or this one that uses a Bill Maher quote that is explicitly about the hypocrisy of american civic religion to represent a group calling itself "The Christian Left."

First of all, Bill Maher is, essentially, a conservative and antivaxxer who thinks that Democrats keep losing because they're alienating their base by supporting things like universal healthcare (maher has cheerfully said on his show that he thinks we shouldn't charge taxpayers to make fat people healthy and that the best healthcare is a diet; he has also said a healthy diet is why people don't need vaccines, and you should skip the fast food to avoid getting the flu, and that vaccines cause alzheimers) and cancelling student debt.

Second of all:

As a very reddit-type atheist myself, I wish more people would remember that Bill Maher is not interested in christian morality, he is interested in pointing out hypocrisy as a cheap gotcha (and is absolutely uninterested in responding when people point out his own hypocrisy - he is a neat demonstration of why there is essentially no utility in pointing out when people's actions don't align with their stated beliefs).

Anyway, it's clear that the mod drama on a decade-old MCU fanblog was justified, thank you, unhinged mod, for the repository of liberal memes, and everyone, please please please accept that bill maher is a huge piece of shit and you don't want him to be the face of your movement.

[grinnames]

SMG4: Beta Godbox AU/Harvester AU

Half a year ago, when I was first getting into the SMG4 fandom, and drawing the characters for the first time, I had created a nameless AU that would later develop into my current project: Godbox AU.

This nameless AU had a completely different story! Thought it would be interesting to look back upon it and add some lore to it.

Here are my first ever SMG4 drawings, along with the beginning concept drawings for the AU:

Originally, Godbox AU didn't even have the Godbox involved. It was supposed to be about an antagonistic version of 4 and 3. They were alien invaders, a life-form known as Super Meme Harvesters, so they were named SMH4 and SMH3. Meme Harvesters are energy vampires that conquer and drain worlds of their memes for sustenance. Memes are the lifeforce of the universe, so this causes many worlds to destabilize and fall into glitchy ruin.

Some new lore I recently created:

New Name: Harvester AU

Meme Harvesters are artificial lifeforms created by the inhabitants of an empire far far away. While it has everything they could ever want, it can no longer offer them food and energy. There are no more memes left on their home, so they must outsource their energy from different planets and alternate dimensions by sending Meme Harvesters. They don't usually destroy worlds on purpose, because that would destroy their food source.

3 and 4 were sent on a mission to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, and the two of them terrorized it for a good long while. Their brainwashing ray dumbed down anyone that tried to stand up to them. But eventually, 4 ends up defecting because this world has grown on him, and his new objective is to become a Youtuber and make friends! Of course, this betrayal hurts 3, and the two of them become bitter rivals after that.

But how long can SMH4 betray his programming and true nature? The instinct to feed on meme energy is his instinct. The directive to serve the empire is hardwired into his brain.

I redrew them here! (designs NOT official)

Harvester AU will not be my main focus, but SMH4 and SMH3 may be explored and developed sometime here and there! And they probably won't look like this forever. Would like to differentiate them from Godbox AU.

[robin-evry]

Heeeyyyyy~ it’s a me again, so just watched the Transformers one movie, and it got me thinking of what would happen if Yuu was a cybertronian/Transformer? Like alien robot that Can transform into a vehicle isekaied to a magic School? Imagine the fun! the chaos! They can pick up the overblot students and put them in air jail like a misbehaving cat! Ortho finally has a bestie!!!!

Sure thing, ask and you shall receive

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐔𝐔 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐂𝐘𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐀𝐍 👾🤖

Cybertronians are a species of autonomous robotic organisms originating from the distant planet called Cybertron that had their essences transferred into robotic bodies known as "Transformers".

Cybertronian!Yuu one of by far most unique students ever, they tower over most of the students. By cybertronian!yuu has received some modification in twst that helps them fit in the world more.

They can partially transform parts of their body into mechanical tools, like shields, scanners, or even small weaponry. This ability has led to some interesting duels in combat class, where they improvises with forms no one expects.

Cybertronian!Yuu sees magic as something like a digital matrix, with each spell having its own “source code.” While they may struggle with traditional spellcasting, Cybertronian Yuu can often rewrite spells or make unique modifications, leading to unexpected effects. This adaptability often puts them at odds with teachers, yet impresses friends like Ace and Deuce.

Cybertronian!Yuu can store and retrieve a ton of information like a living database, sometimes glitching and blurting out random trivia. Ace and Deuce find it hilarious, but it occasionally becomes handy, especially during exams.

Do you know the meme of the song I woke up in a new Bugatti, that's the first year riding on cybertronian!yuu on their transformation form. They have become their friends chauffeur around school pretty much everywhere.

Ortho + Cybertronian!Yuu : robot besties.

NRC tend to call them both a “tech wiz.” They often exchange “upgrades” and tech secrets, and Ortho even helps Cybertronian!Yuu unlock hidden Cybertronian features that they were previously unaware of. They’re like the school’s tech-savvy duo, making Idia’s life easier and sometimes scaring him with their synchronized techno-speak.

Cybertronian! Yuu has an “echo mode” that lets them record and replay sounds, which Rook finds utterly fascinating for tracking creatures or investigating mysteries. Sometimes, they use it to replay people’s voices, teasing Ace or copying Riddle’s strict tone. Grim once caught them imitating the Headmage and nearly exposed them!

Their system has an auto-translate function for languages, magical runes, and even animal sounds, making them NRC’s unofficial interpreter. This skill shines with Sebek, who tries to one-up them in translating ancient text, and with Kalim, who loves hearing animal translations from the Spirit of the Dunes.

Inspired by Pomefiore’s focus on beauty, they develop a “glamour mode” that projects holographic outfits, allowing them to “try on” new looks with a simple transformation. Rook and Vil are fascinated by their ability to shift appearances at will, and Vil even pushes them to “update” their glamour mode regularly to keep up with fashion trends.

Cybertronian!yuu is very curious about the world around them, since originally back in Cybertron there wasn't any organic like plant-life. You can find them being curious and browsing things that find them interesting.

When seriously damaged, cybertronian!Yuu has an auto-repair protocol that initiates a regeneration process. This usually involves a “recharging stasis” where they power down for a few hours to restore internal systems by transforming into a metal box to repair any damages coming to their body and database.

They also have the ability to heck or connect themselves into different technologies, they can see through the technology database as well copying the abilities of the technology.

They discovers they can use holo-projections to mimic voices and create illusions. With Ace and Grim, Yuu pulls harmless pranks like projecting an image of Crowley, scaring students into thinking he’s around.

During battles, cybertronian!yuu possessed a wide range of arsenal weapons. But one of their favorite styles of fighting is basically running over the enemies in their transformation form.

Imagine overblot Azul laughing and yapping about something, and the next thing he got hit by a vehicle as well putting their enemies in time out.

[hadaldemon-nsft]

tw: a bit suggestive (?), some curse words, very cursed, very TIHI, fictional character brief torture, CBT (?), mdni, read this cursed meme-y post at your own risk

i have seen around quite often how the soul jam could be an erogenous zone like a... uh... a soul dick?/slit?/bulge?/????, ok, i like the idea, very sexy and very intimate in an alien way but my question now is... if you apply that, what are those things dangling from the soul jam of Sage of Truth then? looks like they are a part of the soul jam (at this point you may have an idea of where this is going if you know what all those warning initials mean)

I'll tell you my answer, those are his

FUCKING SOUL BALLS!!!

that's right, that's what you read, his

FUCKING SOUL BALLS!!!!!!!

dangling from his neck like the freak he is! Bet you can even

SOUL COCK AND SOUL BALL TORTURE HIM!!!!!

i was cursed with this damn thought and, because of that, i'm cursing everyone with it like the evil witch i am!!!!!!

(mind the volume in public areas before if you are playing these videos with volume on)

(edited to reduce volume, video source here)

(but with his soul balls)

[grox]

i have a burgeoning interest in fragrance & asking may be moot bcz i know how personal a thing it is... but do you have any starting spots? websites or advice for picking&choosing or brand recommendations or even just personal favorites. & also have you ever read perfume by patrick süskind? i feel u might find a kinship with grenouille. thats all thanks man

Ministry of scent. Large collection of fragrances by many different creators, sorted by maker, main notes, which season to wear, very wide range of stuff on there. Majority of perfumes have samples avalaible for 5 bucks, if you only buy samples there's a 5 dollar flat shipping charge, plus a discount on the full size of any sample you buy in the future printed on the packing slip. Full sizes are straight from the source, so you dont have to worry about accidentally buying a bootleg like you may on ebay, but it is expensive. My advice to you for now though, is go to the mall, don't go to an actual perfume store just yet, but check out like, Sears, JCPenny, Macys, and run around in the perfume section there. Bring a buddy, make it a day. See what's going on in the mainstream fragrance world, spray some samples on you, see what you like best, see what you fucking HATE, see what notes smell good or bad on you. See what they smell like on your buddy if you have one, and compare. Really try to get a feel for how your skin works with this stuff. Play with both womens and mens fragrances, try to study each one as you test them. When you're done, if you're still up for it, check out lush, or sephora, ulta, any teenybopper store that also sells perfumes, and play around there. Compare the overall sweetness, and prevalence of notes. Some of them will blow your hairline back but now you know what to avoid in the future. Check out a bath and body works and play around with their weak ass body mists. Do not go to a perfume store because those guys are really pushy and they get mad if you just sample a bunch and walk out. And frankly I don't trust them..

For what perfumers I recommend, check out ralph lauren, vince camuto, and Versace. These are like, the big brands that everybody knows, and you'll be likely to find something good for you without having to order online, cause theyre usually right there at the mall. My favorites are Polo Blue, Eterno, and this isnt verasce but Alien by mugler is crazy and you could probably still find it around. As for small brands, check back on ministry of scent. I LOVE montale, borntostandout, and imaginary authors. I recommend chocolate greedy, mud, and saint julep from those three. Alright miscellanious. It's not a meme, if you're into the smell of coconut at all, get Gary. Its 12 bucks and if you dont like it, someone in your life is bound to. But you'll like it. Rest of the spongebob line is kinda mid, I've tried mr krabs and its lemony, not what I like in particular, so I gave it to my cousins boyfriend because he LOVED it. if you like gary, check out VACATION, by VACATION, its straight up a poolside.

Really though, sniff around. Start using your nose as actively as you do your ears, ask people what theyre wearing, you can get a nice list from that. Get some friends irl into fragrances so you can dump off the stuff you hate on one another. Keep a little notebook if you're into that, hop on fragrantica and do some reading before you purchase a full size of anything, wear your samples out and about to see if it sickens you over time. Eventually you'll find your little niche and never ever leave it, so enjoy a wide range of things while you still can.

I have not read perfume but I will check it out

-Love,

GEORGE

[mariacallous]

If you’re baffled by Skibidi Toilet, you’re not alone.

The bizarre animated YouTube series centers on an alien invasion: a swarm of singing heads, all popping out of toilets, has descended on a Los Angeles–like metropolis and triggered a surreal, cartoonish, apocalyptic war. That’s a more direct and clear explanation than you’ll find in the actual videos, since they’re all almost completely wordless. There’s no language barrier, which is a major reason why the videos have been viewed hundreds of millions of times, becoming a global cultural phenomenon among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Surprisingly for something so popular, Skibidi Toilet has garnered a reputation for being incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t a fan. Its impenetrable nature has raised serious concerns around the world. Some call it a moral outrage, foreign propaganda meant to prey on vulnerable young minds, or even a disease. In a cultural climate where it’s harder and harder to understand trends and popularity, people are searching for an explanation for how singing toilets conquered the world. On the May 22 episode of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert punched up a joke about the Biden campaign using Skibidi Toilet to attract the youth vote, saying that if anyone didn’t get the gag, their grandchildren could explain it “and you still won’t understand.”

As random as the videos can seem, their success isn’t. Skibidi Toilet deftly combines modern storytelling trends with nostalgic internet humor in a way that magnifies the outwardly confusing qualities of both. “It was initially appealing to young people for its utter weirdness,” says danah boyd, a partner researcher at Microsoft Research. “Parents (and many other adults) probably reacted with revulsion, as they’ve done many other times. That revulsion from adults makes it even more appealing to young people.”

That’s why the word “skibidi” has become a more general shibboleth for Gen Z and younger, in the same class as “rizz”, “gyat,” and “sigma.” Adults being shocked and confounded at kids having fun creates a feedback loop where kids want to make it even more distressing. The videos certainly have a lot of shock value, featuring surreal, disturbing, and violent imagery. In an interview with Forbes in February, Alexey Gerasimov, who creates the videos and uploads them under the name “DaFuq!?Boom!,” described the videos as being inspired by his own recurring nightmares.

In that light, it can be easy to see why the global success has been met with an equally global panic. Last August, several writers and journalists in Malaysia and Indonesia warned parents about the dangers of a “Skibidi toilet syndrome” that would cause children to refuse to stop imitating the toilet’s songs and dances. Earlier this year, Robbie Collin wrote in the Telegraph that the videos were a sign YouTube needed more strictly enforced age limits.

Other sources are going even farther, calling the surreal meme videos a threat to national security. In February, reporter Olga Sosnina claimed in a Swedish news outlet that Skibidi Toilet was Russian propaganda aimed at indoctrinating children. Russia was just as worried: In January, Moscow officials were called to investigate the videos. In April, Anna Mityanina, St. Petersburg’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, played the videos to the city’s legislative assembly as part of an annual report on risks to children. “There is no need to pretend that there are no standards of decency,” Mityanina said. “A character in the form of a toilet, to put it mildly, is not cultured enough.”

For all of the worry, there isn’t much to be concerned about within the Skibidi Toilet videos themselves. “I see these media as reflective of our societal obsessions,” says boyd. “As always, young people twist it slightly in a way that makes adults uncomfortable because they don’t want to reckon with their own passions.”

The videos, as uncanny as they can get, don’t contain anything particularly unsuitable for children. The violence is unrelenting and large in scope, but never goes beyond cartoonish explosions and punches. Characters who appear to be killed or turned to the villain’s side regularly return to fight alongside the heroes. The largely wordless storytelling, of course, puts a limit on mature themes. Ultimately, the most “indecent” element of the videos is the toilets themselves, which will always be a hit with the younger generation.

That’s not the only area where Skibidi Toilet follows a long tradition. Gerasimov (who didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment) animates the videos using the Source Filmmaker program, but he’s modified the animation interface to emulate the 2006 game Garry’s Mod. Garry’s Mod, true to its name, was initially a fanmade modification of the game Half-Life 2 that removed any structure or objective, leading to a purely creative sandbox years before Minecraft’s Creative Mode. The game was used to create thousands of machinima videos throughout the late 2000s, and Gerasimov calls these videos a primary inspiration for Skibidi Toilet.

Maddy Buxton, the head of YouTube’s culture and trends team, says this is a major factor in the videos’ success. “One thing we know about Gen Z viewers and creators is they’re interested in nostalgia. It’s hearkening back to this earlier time, even if they didn’t grow up in it themselves,” Buxton says. Skibidi Toilet was one of the top trending topics last year on YouTube, where at one point it garnered 2.8 billion views in 28 days.

Nostalgia and scatological humor can be eye-catching, but to build up the kind of sustained interest and devotion Gerasimov has, there needs to be a story in its own right. The narrative of Skibidi Toilet isn’t communicated directly, but that only adds to its intrigue for many viewers, especially younger ones who are used to having to put in extra work to get the full picture. “We’ve been looking into the role of lore in building these big fan communities,” says Buxton. “The ones that aren’t just passively watching, but digging into the backstory.”

That digging is so popular that it’s transcending traditional structures of fandom. There’s no shortage of ways to be a fan of something online, but Skibidi Toilet’s audience has spent most, if not all, of their lives on the internet, and their work comes out in extremely online forms. Acolytes flood YouTube with breakdown videos and expand on the worldbuilding with Roblox games. Then there’s the comment-section fiction: Wherever the videos are posted, the comments are filled with dozens or hundreds of people providing their own written narratives retelling the events of the video, filling the gap left by the storytelling with their own words. It’s a cross between a liveblogged reaction and fan fiction, creating lore where none existed.

The idea of lore is now fundamental to the way many people consume any fiction, but it started in the world of video games, especially games like Dark Souls that have virtually no direct storytelling. There are hundreds of unofficial Skibidi Toilet games that let players take part in the battles, but the videos themselves invite a similar degree of participation.

“People are coming at it from different entry points,” says Buxton. “Some people are coming in from the gaming world, some are coming just for the action storytelling, some like to unpack lore.” She describes these unusual fan works as “casual creation,” saying that “this idea of being a daily creator makes it much easier to be an active fan than it was five, 10, 15 years ago. Now you can engage in the subject of your fandom by creating it online.”

Of course, Skibidi Toilet itself could be categorized as a fan creation, containing numerous echoes of Garry’s Mod and the Half-Life games. Like many recent works that emerge online, from streetwear trends to unauthorized TikTok musicals, Skibidi Toilet blurs the line between fan work and original work. “Lots of the kids who got into Skibidi Toilet don’t know anything about where these characters and assets are sourced from,” says Phillip Hamilton, an associate editor at Know Your Meme.

Beyond the actual content of the videos, their release schedule is also a factor. “Skibidi Toilet is huge with people (namely kids) who always want more,” says Hamilton. “Each episode is about a minute long and they blast by so fast, with episodes coming out super frequently.”

During the first wave of the videos’ popularity in mid-2023, Gerasimov was uploading at least two videos each week for months, sometimes uploading a video every single day. Social media algorithms have prioritized more frequent uploaders for years, and Gerasimov had been animating in Source Filmmaker for more than a decade, giving him enough experience to crank out the videos fast enough to satisfy YouTube’s algorithm.

This isn’t the first time the algorithm has popularized content that adults find inappropriate for children. In 2017, YouTube faced a public outcry when it was found that the platform was promoting hundreds of disturbing videos, and allowing them to be viewed on its family-friendly YouTube Kids app. The controversy would be known as “Elsagate,” since the offending videos featured popular children’s characters like Elsa, Spider-Man, and Peppa Pig undergoing gory medical procedures, getting kidnapped, and more.

These videos were transparent attempts to game YouTube’s recommendation system for ad revenue. Many of them had hundreds of seemingly inauthentic comments to boost engagement metrics, and a report by the New York Times found one prominent channel was creating videos with a team of roughly 100 people.

YouTube made changes to its algorithm to disincentivize scammers from making these videos. They can’t do the same to flush away Skibidi Toilet, because it wasn’t made to satisfy the algorithm in the same way. It’s a much smaller operation, made with genuine craft and artistic intention. Gerasimov made the videos longer and more ambitious as the series grew in popularity, but that growth happened thanks to people actually enjoying the series, not for associations with popular characters.

Nonetheless, they’ve become even more of a hit among the younger generation, and for parents, this seems to be the real underlying fear. “I think Skibidi Toilet’s ‘negative effects’ on kids are mostly just the obsessive, seemingly addictive aspect,” says Hamilton. “It’s the same reason parents worry about short-form video platforms like TikTok.” The videos took off at the perfect time—after the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a general shift away from in-person social interaction—for their weirdness to feed into paranoia about what a screen-mediated life might be doing to impressionable young minds.

When it comes to children’s browsing habits, there are many scarier things they might find online than Skibidi Toilet. As strange as the videos are, they wouldn’t do very well as propaganda or even advertising. There’s no agenda, for good or ill, besides the entertainment value. In the Washington Post, Taylor Lorenz compared Skibidi Toilet to “harmless entertainment” like Cocomelon and other children’s videos. Not everyone is happy about the popularity of Cocomelon, but that popularity hasn’t caused the same kind of panic.