Marcus the Virtual Reality Worm is an oddball VRChat character whose deadpan and odd way of speaking versus what he is saying has taken over TikTok. The deadpan worm is the creation of Twitch streamer Jouffa, and his strange gait and eerie monologues quickly turned him into a fan favorite. Though Marcus looks like a lanky, cartoonish character with an empty stare, his delivery of emotionally jarring and intense dialogue transformed him into somewhat of an internet folk hero—both a joke and a tragic figure.
Who is Marcus the Virtual Reality Worm?
Marcus the Worm is a character from VRChat, the popular online virtual reality platform. He is a bizarre worm-like creature with stick-thin arms and legs whose way of speaking is confusing. Many on social media describe the worm creature as “quirky” and his deadpan language has led to folks remarking that you cannot just communicate with Marcus—you must experience him.
The worm’s design itself comes from unknown origins, but many online believe that it comes from a creator named AceJaysStudios. Other creators made similarly designed worm avatars, such as Ponkke. Now, people call the style of avatar “Wormiesocks.”
@mischievouslick Marcus’s run gets me every time# @Roflgator #marcus #vr #vrchat #funnymoments #superman #fyp #viral #foryoupage ♬ original sound – MischievousLick
Marcus the Virtual Reality Worm is an avatar that often appears on Roflgator’s streams and has become largely popular on TikTok after videos of the animated worm-creature went viral.
In a video that claimed to explain who Marcus the Worm is, @roflgatorvr compiled a series of clips from their streams with the audio, “I’m so lonely. All the other viltrumites are scared of me. No one talks to me. They think I am unstable. They send me from planet to planet, committing atrocities in their name. And as I get better at it, they fear me more and more. I am a victim of my own success.”
@roflgatorvr Just who is Marcus? What is Marcus? Maybe it’s better if we don’t know #roflgator #vrchat #vrchatmemes #funnymoments #funny (it’s just @Jouffa ♬ original sound – Roflgator
Who is Jouffa?
Marcus the VR worm is a character created and voiced via text-to-speech (TTS) by daily Twitch streamer Jouffa. On Twitch, Jouffa has 39.5K followers and over 2.3K subscribers, where they stream mostly VRChat for anywhere from five to eight hours at a time. They don’t provide very much personal information on their social media accounts, opting instead to chat in their streams with their viewers.
Jouffa is a Vtuber, also known as a Virtual YouTuber. According to MyVTuber.com, “a VTuber is a content creator that uses a virtual model, often an anime-style avatar that interacts with their audience on social media platforms and video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Twitch.”
The virtual model is often portrayed as its own entity, separate from the content creator, despite being voiced by a real-life person. It provides an extra layer of anonymity for VTubers that other streamers do not have.
How Marcus the VR Worm became the voice of existential brainrot on TikTok
@hannahsfunnybone ♬ original sound – hannahsfunnybone
People on social media love the absurdity of Marcus the VR worm. The most common hashtags that TikTokers use on videos of the worm avatar include #roflgator #vrchat #vrchatmemes #funnymoments #funny. The TikTok videos range from 500K to millions of views and typically feature a silly and harmless form of brain rot content that is both ridiculous and entertaining to viewers.
TikToker @rrryko.d wrote in the comments of one video, “Marcus is not controlled by anyone. I choose to believe he exists as an autonomous entity somewhere in this realm only accessible via VR.”
Another wrote, “The fact that someone said Marcus is probably a doctor or lawyer who does this in their spare time makes this even more funny 
”
Twitch streamer @Jouffa did not respond immediately to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via X direct message.
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