They Run Duos!?

About

They Run Duos!? refers to a series of voiced memes that imagine various popular characters playing Fortnite together. Inspired by a viral TikTok, the format saw spread on Instagram in late July 2021.

Origin

On July 2nd, 2021, TikToker @faze_squarepants posted a TikTok^[1] that imagined SpongeBob SquarePants streaming Fortnite, using a text-to-speech tool to voice SpongeBob. The post received over 2 million views and 240,000 likes in one month (shown below, left). On the same day, @faze_squarepants posted^[2][3] two similar memes, including a version that imagined SpongeBob and Patrick playing in duo game mode. That video received over 6.6 million views and 783,000 likes in one month (shown below, right).

- Oh my fucking god, this kid is shooting me in storm… Get fucking shit on, kid.
- Good shit, SpongeBob.

Spread

The version imagining SpongeBob and Patrick playing together received viral spread online. For example, on July 10th, 2021, Instagram^[4] user pedros_friend reposted the video, with the post gaining over 8,700 views in one month. On July 20th, Instagram^[5] user lilcasper.v2 reposted it, with the reupload gaining over 61,200 views in two weeks.

On July 28th, 2021, Instagram^[6] user crab_nicholson posted the first derivative meme, using a tool to voice Regular Show characters Benson and Muscle Man (shown below). The video gained over 1,000 views in one week and received viral spread in the following days. For example, a July 30th repost by Instagram^[7] page chronic.memesv2 gained over 155,300 views in four days.

In late July and early August 2021, more viral versions were posted by users on Instagram.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References