About

Alive But Gay or Ninjago Then vs. Now is a series of object-labeling memes based on a meme comparing the fates of Lego Ninjago characters in 2012 vs. 2024, with the character Cole notably labeled, "Alive but gay." The meme was posted by TikToker @random_clips660 in July 2024 and garnered viral spread over the following months, inspiring memes in which characters from other series are similarly labeled.

Origin

On July 31st, 2024, TikToker^[1] @random_clips660 posted a slideshow consisting of two Shia LaBeouf #ALLMYMOVIES reactions. The first shows an image of the Lego Ninjago characters and LaBeouf smiling under the label "2012." The next shows the same characters over an image of LaBeouf crying, each labeled with their purported status as of 2024, including Cole, who is labeled "alive but gay." The post gained over 9.5 million views in nine months.

Spread

On August 3rd, 2024, X^[2] user @toritilla5 posted screenshots of each slide, garnering over 14,000 likes and 3,100 reposts in eight months. The post inspired edits as quote-reposts.

For example, on August 5th, X^[3] user @anhanet posted a version of the meme featuring Project Sekai characters, garnering over 5,300 likes in eight months.

On August 18th, Redditor u/Shxdedlight posted a meme to the /r/btd6^[4] subreddit placing similar labels on the characters from Bloons Tower Defense 6, garnering over 4,200 upvotes in eight months.

On November 28th, 2024, Redditor u/silvermoon_rider posted a version of the meme to the /r/FearAndHunger^[5] subreddit based on characters from Fear and Hunger, garnering over 1,300 upvotes in five months.

On January 1st, 2025, X^[6] user @capitabina posted a version of the meme that gained over 35,000 likes in three months. On March 12th, Redditor u/peter767g posted a meme to the /r/JoJoMemes^[7] subreddit based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, garnering over 2,100 upvotes in a month.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References