BRACE YOURSELVES / I ATE MEXICAN LAST NIGHT
A Winter is Coming post.
Sean Bean as Ned Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones, which premiered in 2011. "Winter is coming" are the words of House Stark - a warning that hard times always return. The meme version adds two words: "Brace yourselves." Ned looks grim, fur-collared, and entirely sure something annoying is on its way. The top line is always "Brace yourselves", the bottom whatever is about to arrive in a predictable, unstoppable flood. "Brace yourselves" / "the 'first day of school' photos are coming." "Brace yourselves" / "Christmas music in October is coming." "Brace yourselves" / "the 'reply all' emails are coming." Anything seasonal, viral or inevitable qualifies. Ned, for the record, saw winter coming for a whole season and still walked into King's Landing trusting everyone. His forecasting was excellent; his judgment of people less so. The internet kept the forecast. **Why it caught on:** there's always a wave of something on its way, and now there's a face for watching it come.