First I Loled, Then I Serioused

Submission 6

Part of a series on At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like. [View Related Entries]

About

First I Loled, Then I Serioused, or, First I Lol'd, Then I Serious'd, is a series of memes, including image macros, in which an image of a subject expressing joy is shown alongside the caption "First I loled" next to an image of the same subject with a more serious expression, captioned, "then I serioused." The meme first appeared online as early as 2008 and became increasingly popular over the next decade-plus, seeing a resurgence on X / Twitter in August 2024, along with a similar series of memes using the captions, "First I blegggg, then I serioused." The meme is a play on the "At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like" format.

Origin

On September 9th, 2008, Halolz^[1] user Shawn Handyside posted an image macro featuring the Heavy from Team Fortress 2 striking a happy expression on the top half and a serious expression on the bottom half, the top captioned, "First I lol'd" and the bottom, "but then I serious'd," garnering over 140 votes in 16 years. This is the earliest known version of the meme.

The meme is a rendition of the "At first, I was like, but then, I was like" meme, which has origins dating back as early as 2004. Similar memes using the phrases "I lol'd" or "I serious'd" related to the "at first" format were posted online prior to 2008, including a May 2007 image macro using the phrase "I lol'd,"^[2] however, the Halolz meme is seemingly the first to use both "I lol'd" and "I serious'd" in one meme.

Spread

The specific "first I loled, then I serioused" meme gained viral spread throughout the 2010s and 2020s.

2024 Resurgence / First I IJBOLed / First I Blegggg

In 2024, the meme saw a resurgence in popularity on X, including a secondary version of the meme featuring the caption, "First I blegggg" instead of "first I loled," with "bleg" referencing the subject sticking out their tongue. For example, on June 23rd, 2024, X^[3] user @thornopolis posted two selfie photos, one smiling and one serious, under the captions "first I ijboled, then I serioused," garnering over 7,000 likes in two months.

On July 24th, X^[4] user @TeedgeeOfficial posted a version of the meme using two versions of the white Egyptian image, garnering over 129,000 likes in a month.

On August 26th, X^[5] user @hikipup posted two images of a puppy, writing, "First i blegggg…. Then i serioused," garnering over 115,000 likes in two days. The post inspired other X^[6]^[7] users to post variations on the meme using the "first I blegggg" caption instead of "first I loled."

Various Examples

At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like

At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like refers to a phrasal template and series of memes that revolve around one's sudden change in their opinion or impression regarding a particular subject. Typically, these appear as image macros with variations of the caption “At first I was like X, but then I was like X,” with two related images depicting different facial expressions split into two panels. There are many variations of the setup, which sometimes displays the same image twice for irony.