Community fads
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| “ | Gentlemen.
Click to listen
— The Spy
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” |
Team Fortress 2 and its community are responsible for the birth of a variety of memes. A meme, by definition, is "an idea or concept that attains online popularity." The medium used in which to create the memes can range not only from Team Fortress 2, but as well as Template:W and Template:W. These are some of the most frequent used mediums to create Team Fortress 2 memes.
Contents
Memes Found In Game
Gentlemen
The "Gentlemen." meme stems from one of the Spy's most ubiquitous catchphrases. His calm, suave, calculating persona is encapsulated in his utterance of the simple address, followed by the careful placement of a cigarette.
The meme itself is a widely recognized image macro, originally spawned by a Garry's mod screen-shot of the Spy with his mouth jammed with cigarettes followed by the caption "GENTLEMEN." in white capital letters. It was soon remade into a crudely drawn caricature of the same picture. The concept quickly exploded and expanded to feature a version for every Team Fortress character. The basic formula for the macro is straightforward; it is a caricatured drawing of a character with their mouth jammed full of objects that usually pertains to aspects of that character. For example, a "Gentlemen" meme of the Heavy would involve a caricature of the Heavy with his custom bullets crammed into his mouth, with the text "BULLETS." underneath.
Poor and Irish
The term Poor and Irish first appeared in a hidden link of the Classless Update, as a retort by the Gentle Manne of Leisure to a hatless man. It should be noted that this hidden page introduced the phenomenon and belief that hats show a form of higher social status and class. Since then, players often use this term to describe players with no hats or wearers of common hats such as the Ghastly Gibus. Players that believe they fall under the characteristics of the Gentle Manne of Leisure often refer to themselves as fellow Gentle Menne. It is a common behavior that these people converse in an overly formal, perhaps Gothic, language.
Saxton Hale
Saxton Hale is a non-player character that is viewed by most community members of Team Fortress 2 as deity-like figure, often performing almost superhuman feats. His achievements in life include being the current owner of Mann Co, (after it descends down from Barnabas Hale's family) a popular company responsible for many of the weapons found in Team Fortress 2, being the 5th richest man of the world, and having his own line of comic books.
Saxton Hale is frequently considered a Team Fortress 2 version of the popular Template:W internet meme. Directly satirizing the phenomenon of Chuck Norris facts, a fansite called Saxton Hale Facts was created, where users can submit facts about Saxton Hale and his many incredible feats.
Spycrab
One of the most well-known memes of TF2 is the Spycrab, an animation glitch caused by looking straight up while holding the Disguise Kit and crouch walking. This causes the Spy to walk in an amusing fashion that resembles a crab. The Dapper Rogue Catalogue for the Gentleman Scoundrel includes a "Crab-Walking Kit" with the description "It will change your skeleton! Excruciatingly painful but worth it."
Due to its popularity, the Spycrab was included as an alternative taunt for the Disguise Kit in the Sniper vs. Spy Update.
Demopan
The Demopan meme originates from a Steam User's Forums thread about "The New Face of TF2". However, it quickly became a fad as the photograph spread across the Team Fortress fandom. The Demopan, with the name "STOUT SHAKO FOR 2 REFINED", appears as a BLU Demoman equipped with a Frying Pan and Chargin' Targe, wearing a Bounty Hat and Dangeresque, Too?, and smiling for the deathcam. Later, a user created a picture featuring the Demopan with an explosion. This swiftly became another icon for the Demopan by using a cutout of the Demopan in the deathcam. Several other images were made with the cutout of the Demopan to continue the fad. A user on YouTube who goes by the name of SpawnThemAll, also created a video which spoofs Meet the Demoman; the video replaced his Bottle with a Frying Pan, changed the Demoman into the Demopan, made the Grenade Launcher fire frying pans, and changed the Stickybomb Launcher to fire Stout Shakos instead of stickies.
YouTube memes
Voice Clip Mashups
This meme consists of remixes of various songs in which the classes voice commands (for instance, Scout's "Bonk!") are used to mask or mimic the aforementioned songs. Some popular examples that have caught on in the Team Fortress 2 community include "Mortal Kombonk" and "WAR!".
nope.avi
Created with Template:W by YouTube user Jimbomcb(who is also a moderator at the Facepunch message boards), the nope.avi meme consists of a BLU Engineer on Gravel Pit slowly approaching the screen. As he stops his hard hat floats up, he utters the phrase "nope" and his neck elongates before he promptly leaves.
nope.avi is frequently used in conversations as a humorous negative response. Instead of replying no, instead the person may post a link to the video or type "nope.avi".
Several parodies of the meme exist, consisting of other characters uttering a phrase before a drastic physical transformation takes place.
Scout is Delicious
A meme initially spawned with the creation of ARMaster's short two second YouTube video depicting a Heavy eating a Scout whose head is replaced with a Sandvich. Its popularity resulted in thousands of responses parodying the original. Following the trend of many other popular Youtube Team Fortress 2 Template:W, the Heavy had two separate lines of dialogue crossed to form the phrase "Scout is delicious."
Painis Cupcake
Created by RubberFruit, this meme involves a crazed Soldier named Painis Cupcake (a play on Penis Cupcake). Often seen crawling on the ground, writhing and making clicking sounds while accompanied by the "Puzzle in the Caves" theme from Nintendo's Donkey Kong 64, a demented looking Painis Cupcake introduces himself with the phrase "I am Painis Cupcake. I will eat you", followed by a devilish grin. After his introduction, he promptly devours his victims violently. He exhibits various superpowers, including instantly ÜberCharging himself and flying. His first appearance can be found here.
Since then, various offshoots have been created, often using the same abilities, including Robot Painis Cupcake, a cybernetic version with Direct Hits for arms, and Painis Fruitcake, who gives gifts to his victims instead of promptly eating them. Their appearances are here and here.
Painis Cupcake has a twin Brother on the BLU Team, seen here, who he gets into an epic battle with, seen here.
Vagineer
A meme initially spawned with the creation of J16FOX's YouTube video, the Vagineer is a deformed Engineer with heavily distorted facial expressions, giving his face the appearance of a vagina.
Vagineer's speech consists of reversed and distorted Engineer voice lines, and is usually seen grunting at other characters. He has a large arsenal of attacks, including telekinesis and self deformation, and even launching its limbs (sometimes attached by a rope so it can extend back to its original state) like rockets. He is also capable of regenerating body parts and turning other people into "Vagi" versions of their characters.
Vagineer is viewed as a demigod-like monster, rarely being defeated by anyone. In the case of his death he usually regenerates and retaliates, often violently.
He also seems to be Snyphurr's master, summoning him by using his extendable tongue to obtain a Buff Banner bugle and playing it. Snyphurr is the large, floating, legless and headless torso of the BLU Sniper. His hands sprout from the bottom where his legs would be. Snyphurr speaks in reversed and distorted Sniper voice lines, similar to Vagineer, and is often accompanied by the "Majora's Incarnation" theme from Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask". Snyphurr possess the ability to turn people to stone by exposing his blood red face from the hole in his neck and screaming. "Majora's Wrath", also from Nintendo, plays whenever he uses this attack.
As a slight nod, the VS Saxton Hale Mod, has a chance that the player chosen to become Saxton Hale will instead become a BLU Vagineer, with matching voice clips.
Odd Scout
Created by dudeguy707 in Template:W, The Odd Scout first appears in this video as a severely deformed Scout with elongated limbs and an apparently broken neck. The Odd Scout says nothing and instead patrols 2Fort, while the "Room Ambiance" theme from Nintendo's Super Metroid plays. There are 3 episodes of Odd Scout thus far: the first simply shows a RED Odd Scout crossing the 2Fort bridge, the second episode shows the RED Odd Scout encountering a BLU Scout and "oddifying" him, and the third shows both Odd Scouts encountering a RED Medic, twisting his neck around and causing him to explode merely by staring at him. Parallels between Odd Scout and both the horror manga Enigma of the Amigara Fault and the Slenderman meme have been drawn by fans, and the Odd Scout is often regarded as a surreal or even horror meme.
Seeman
Created by KernCore, the Seeman is a RED Demoman who has an annoying tendency to ask people to look at the thing he is pointing by saying "See?" His speech mostly, if not always, consists of either the word "see" or spontaneous laughter. When threatened, the Seeman usually strikes his opponents with a large fist, but he often has tendency to use his most powerful attack, the Seeman Dance. Although it is nothing more than flailing hands and legs around while Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2's Grinder theme plays, it always cause a huge explosion which kills opponents instantly as seen in this video.
Often, Seeman is seen hanging out with his BLU Soldier equivalent, Seeldier (mostly because their only differences are their looks and voice).
Christian Brutal Sniper
A meme, created by KelThuzadMadness, starring a RED Sniper called the Christian Brutal Sniper that likes to slaughter and use parts of their body for various things. In one previous incident, he thought a removed organ was beautiful and proceeded to use the spine of the poor victim as a weapon. Occasionally, he would love to taste the blood of his victims on both RED and BLU. His arsenal includes many different melee weapons like the Tribalman's Shiv, Eyelander, or the Scotsman's Skullcutter. He is accompanied by a RED Spy who always happens to get blood on his suit. Christian Brutal Sniper is capable of beheading Painis Cupcake, as well as making the Vagineer explode after swallowing the Christian Brutal Sniper. No one knows why he kills people nor why he is Christian. He makes an appearance in the fan made VS Saxton Hale Mod, where there is a chance that he will spawn instead of Hale.
Here is the video in which he made his first appearance
