The Brief: These memes ask the question "what if" something happened, following up with "haha just kidding" and then "unless..."

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

“Haha just kidding…unless” memes convey the awkwardness of trying to play something that’s serious and truthful off as a joke. They can also depict a more sinister scenario in which someone makes a threat and pretends that it’s “just a joke.”

One of the most famous renditions of this meme references how rats may have carried fleas infected with the Bubonic Plague during the Black Death:

This meme is particularly popular in Kpop stan communities.

Haha just kidding… unless…? from dankmemes

What If We Kissed…

“Haha just kidding…unless” memes are similar in format to what if we kissed memes. It’s no surprise that many people have combined these two formats to ask “what if we kissed…ha ha just kidding…unless…”