About

Twitter Image Combination Memes, also known as Please Work, refers to a series of posts that contain two to four images that, when placed together, create one, larger composite image. The trend went viral on Twitter in December 2019 as users captioned these posts "please work" in reference to whether the effect will be successful or not. In 2022, the format regained popularity with Twitter Video Combinations.

Origin

While the exact first tweet to employ the technique is unknown, it has been used on Twitter, often accompanied by the comment "please work," since at least October 2017. On 2nd, 2017, Twitter^[1] user @judesdemorest tweeted a photograph of Tana Mongeau split into quadrants with the caption "please work" (shown below).

Spread

The meme format did not see active use until mid-December 2019. On December 14th, 2019, Twitter^[2] user @apollostars_ posted an image of the Your Turn To Die character Sou Hiyori split into four separate images (shown below), captioning the post, "please work please please please please please please please please please please please please please."

Later that day, Twitter^[3] user @SuddenInterest posted a composite PNG animation of Fat Yoshi pulsating. The post received more than 200,000 likes and 57,000 retweets in less than three days (shown below).

please work pic.twitter.com/rloH42WNhs

— Sudden (@SuddenInterest) December 14, 2019

Following the post, others began posting composite GIFs with the same caption. On December 14th, Twitter^[4] user @codaanim posted a Monkey Circle animation. The post received more than 329,000 likes and 90,000 retweets in less than three days (shown below).

please work pic.twitter.com/VUSUxDohl4

— Coda (@codaanim) December 15, 2019

On December 16th, Twitter^[5] published an Events page on the meme.

Starting in 2020, the format developed a variety of subformats, with most notable being Sasuke Choke Edits, Pope Francis Holding Things (based on an older explotable format) and Kirby Inhaling.

Subformats

Sasuke Choke Edits

Sasuke Choke Edits, also known as Choking Sasuke, Strangling Sasuke and Sasuke Being Choked, refers to an exploitable image from Naruto: Shippūden anime series in which character Sasuke Uchiha is being held by the neck by his brother Itachi Uchiha. In January 2019, image combinations and photoshopped images in which Sasuke appears being chocked by various individuals gained popularity on Twitter, bearing many similarities to the Monkey Haircut and Dog Petting memes.

Pope Francis Holding Things

Pope Francis Holding Things is a series of image edits of a photograph of Pope Francis during communion while holding a Eucharist wafer. Many online have replaced with the wafer with other objects and images. Used since 2015, in 2020, the meme regained popularity with Twitter Image Combination Memes.

Thigh-high Boots Mashups

Thigh-high Boots Tweets are a series of Twitter posts featuring photographs of a person or character positioned so the top half of their body lines up with a picture of a woman wearing thigh-high boots. Starting in late April 2020, the juxtaposed images were often tweeted along with the question "Did it work?" and almost exclusively featured the legs of Lalisa "Lisa" Manoban from the K-pop group Blackpink.

Twitter Video Combinations

Twitter Video Combinations refers to a Twitter feature that allows uploading up to four separate videos in one tweet that was added in October 2022. Following the addition of the feature, posts in which four videos were arranged in a matching order, similar to Twitter Image Combination Memes gained popularity on the app, as well as other memes combining videos for humorous effect.

Brisket 💖🙏🥺 pic.twitter.com/RBpTv4zAEE

— CLG PunsAndBuns (@punsandbunsgg) October 6, 2022

Various Examples

please work pic.twitter.com/HwCKkIJ2vS

— leo (@taikawaitites) December 15, 2019

i fkn did it pic.twitter.com/fvDt69TvR3

— halil (@astateofhalil) December 15, 2019

Anime : Naruto Shippuden pic.twitter.com/TyykRK6VXS

— anime (@sIiceofanime) October 3, 2022

Search Interest

External References