Doomer Thought Chains
Also known as: Doomer Inception Memes · Doomer Dream Chains
Doomer Thought Chains are a multi-layered comic format built on the Wojak-based Doomer and Doomer Girl characters, where each panel reveals that the previous romantic scenario was just happening inside a character's imagination. Originating on Facebook in January 2020, the format parodies the earnest Doomer-meets-Doomer Girl memes by stacking nested daydreams on top of each other, similar to the dream-within-a-dream structure of the film *Inception*1. The format burned bright and fast, producing increasingly absurd multi-level edits over the course of a single week.
Overview
Doomer Thought Chains take the familiar Wojak-style Doomer character and his imagined love interest, Doomer Girl, and stack their interactions into recursive layers. In the simplest version, a panel shows the Doomer having a romantic moment with Doomer Girl, only for the next panel to reveal that the entire scene was a fantasy. The real punchline comes when *that* reveal is itself revealed to be another layer of imagination, and so on. Each new level typically shows a sadder or more pathetic version of the dreamer, with the outermost layer being the harshest reality check1.
The humor sits at the intersection of self-deprecating millennial/zoomer dating anxiety and the absurdist escalation that comes from nesting four, five, or even more fantasy layers. The format rewards creators who can push the nesting to ridiculous extremes while keeping each layer visually distinct.
The Doomer Girl character first appeared on January 2, 2020, when an unknown artist posted the design. The image spread across Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook the same day1. Within 48 hours, creators were already pairing Doomer Girl with the existing Doomer Wojak in romantic scenarios.
On January 4, 2020, Facebook user Andrew Pigeon posted what appears to be the first "imagined interaction" edit. In it, the Doomer pictures a scene with Doomer Girl, but the final panel reveals he was left on read. The post picked up over 670 reactions and 2,300 shares in two weeks1.
The specific format that launched the Thought Chain trend came six days later. On January 10, 2020, Facebook user Sahaza HR posted a comic where an unkempt Wojak imagined himself *as* the Doomer from the original Doomer Girl meme. The twist: when this fantasy-Doomer approached Doomer Girl in "reality," she called the police1. That single edit collected over 3,900 reactions and 10,000 shares within a week, and it established the core mechanic of nesting one fantasy inside another.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
The Doomer Thought Chain template follows a nesting structure:
Start with the fantasy. Draw or edit a panel showing the Doomer in a romantic or idealized interaction with Doomer Girl.
Pull back one level. Add a panel showing that the previous scene was just a daydream. The "real" character is typically sadder, lonelier, or more disheveled than the fantasy version.
Stack more levels. Each new pull-back reveals the previous "reality" was itself a fantasy. The character at each outer layer is usually worse off than the one before.
End with the harshest reality. The outermost panel is the cruelest punchline. Common endings include getting left on read, police being called, or just sitting alone in the dark.
Cultural Impact
Fun Facts
The entire format went from inception to peak virality in under a week, with the most creative edits all dropping between January 11 and 14, 2020.
Sahaza HR's "calling the police" comic that started the trend got shared over 10,000 times, making it one of the most viral single Doomer edits from that period.
@BlancLauz's fan-art tweet outperformed the original Facebook posts by a massive margin, hitting nearly 105,000 likes.
The format name references the 2010 Christopher Nolan film *Inception*, though creators never settled on a single name for the trend.
Derivatives & Variations
Multi-level escalation edits:
Creators competed to add as many nesting levels as possible, with some chains reaching five or more layers of fantasy[1].
"The Game" crossover edit:
An iFunny version incorporated the classic internet mind game "The Game" into the thought chain structure, blending two distinct meme traditions[1].
Fan-art versions:
Some creators redrew the template in their own art styles rather than using the standard Wojak editing approach, like @BlancLauz's viral Twitter rendition.
Frequently Asked Questions
References (1)
- 1Doomer Thought Chains - Know Your Memeencyclopedia