Earlier this spring, a "Forever Alone fail" pic showed a gentleman in a suit, sleeping. The text read that his girlfriend took the snap. However, you could see his feet in the mirror holding a smartphone. Over the weekend in Japan, that photo has created a viral sensation.
As Know Your Meme points out, this image is part of the larger "Caught Me Sleeping" meme. The above pic originally hit Tumblr in March and quickly went viral. Online, this faux sleeping selfie was soon labeled a "Forever Alone fail".
On Saturday, the Joon Sung image started making the internet rounds through Japanese cyberspace after Twitter user PFC.Stick13ear uploaded the image, which was retweeted over two thousand times.
Then on Sunday, another Twitter user, @25nozomi25, uploaded her gag take on the fail. The Japanese text reads: "My boyfriend took this photo of me while I was sleeping lol Love him so much lol". After that, "Forever Alone" is written in English. The image has been retweeted over twenty thousand times.
"Forever Alone" is a Western internet meme. It's interesting to see it get picked up, remixed, and spread elsewhere online.
In Japan, this latest example of the "Caught Me Sleeping" meme has also helped to inspire fan art, further reworkings, and perhaps a greater appreciation of foot-based photography.
Photos: PFC.Stick13ear, 25nozomi25, Takahisakan, Yogoto, Tomato Mute
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.