So, if you’ve spent more than five minutes scrolling through the Deltarune or Undertale subreddits lately, you’ve probably seen his face. Or rather, a very specific, grainy edit of his face. I'm talking about Toby Fox—the legendary dev behind some of the most influential indie games of the last decade—looking absolutely flabbergasted. Usually, it's paired with a caption that says something like Toby who never thought of that.
It’s a weirdly specific meme. Honestly, it’s one of those things that only makes sense if you understand the sheer level of brain rot that occurs when a fandom waits years for a new chapter of a game. But there's actually a bit of a story behind why this specific "Toby" image has become the go-to reaction for every wild fan theory on the internet.
Where did the Toby Who Never Thought of That meme actually come from?
The internet is a giant recycling machine. Before Toby Fox became the face of "not thinking of that," the original template was actually a reaction image of a character from One Piece named Kinnemon. In the series, Kinnemon is often credited by his friends for having these massive, galaxy-brain master plans that—in reality—he just stumbled into by total accident. The joke was always "Kinnemon who didn't think of that."
Naturally, the Deltarune community saw this and realized it was the perfect fit for Toby Fox.
Why? Because the Toby Fox fandom is infamous for over-analyzing everything. People will find a single pixel of a different shade of grey in a trash can in Deltarune Chapter 2 and write a 4,000-word manifesto about how it proves Gaster is actually Sans’s second cousin’s roommate. When these theories get truly unhinged, someone inevitably drops the Toby who never thought of that image.
It’s basically a way of saying: "Hey, that theory is cool, but there is a 0% chance the developer actually intended for that to be a secret message."
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The obsession with "Toby's Mind"
Toby Fox has a very particular relationship with his fans. He’s not like a corporate PR person. He’s quirky. He’s a bit of a troll. He’s the guy who once said he made Deltarune because he had a dream about the ending in 2011 and has been trying to recreate it ever since.
Because he puts so many actual, legitimate secrets in his games, fans have developed a sort of "Toby-can-do-no-wrong" complex. They assume every single line of code is a deliberate choice.
- Did a character blink twice? Must be Morse code.
- Is the music in 4/4 time? Probably a reference to a Greek tragedy.
- Is there a dog in the game? Well, that’s just Toby himself, obviously.
The Toby who never thought of that meme is the community’s self-correcting mechanism. It’s a reality check. It reminds everyone that while Toby is a genius, he’s also just a guy who likes funny jokes and probably didn't hide a secret lore hint in the sound of a toilet flushing.
Why this meme keeps trending in 2026
You’d think a meme about a game dev would die out after a few months. But here we are in 2026, and it’s still everywhere. Part of the reason is the release schedule—or lack thereof—for Deltarune Chapters 3, 4, and 5. When people are hungry for content, they start looking for it in places it doesn't exist.
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I’ve seen people use this meme to react to everything from "Gaster is the Man behind the Tree" to "The Knight is actually a sentient piece of moss."
It has also evolved. You now see variations like "Toby who definitely thought of that" (used when he actually does something genius) or "Toby who is currently thinking of that" (used when he retweets fanart). It’s become a shorthand for the entire relationship between a creator and a fanbase that is constantly trying to outsmart him.
Real examples of "Never Thought of That" moments
There are actually times where the fans were right, and times where they were so far off it’s hilarious. Take the character "Mike" from Deltarune. After Chapter 2, everyone was convinced the next secret boss would be a guy named Mike based on one line of dialogue. People drew thousands of pieces of fanart.
When it turned out the main antagonist of the next area was likely someone else entirely (like Tenna), the Toby who never thought of that meme hit its peak. It was the ultimate "gotcha" moment for the fans who realized they had essentially built a whole character out of thin air.
How to use the meme (The right way)
If you're going to use the Toby who never thought of that meme, you can't just throw it at anything. There’s a bit of an art to it.
- Wait for the Reach: Wait until someone posts a theory that requires at least three different Wikipedia tabs and a degree in linguistics to understand.
- The Grainier, The Better: The meme works best when the image of Toby looks like it was taken on a Nintendo DSi in a dark room.
- Keep it Friendly: The meme isn't supposed to be mean. It's a "we love you Toby, but you're not a literal god" kind of vibe.
Honestly, the best part of this whole thing is that Toby probably does see these. He’s known to lurk on social media. Imagine being him and seeing a 50-page Google Doc about why your choice of font proves the world is ending, and then seeing your own confused face right underneath it. Kinda poetic, honestly.
What's next for Toby Fox memes?
As we get closer to more Deltarune news, expect the Toby who never thought of that to get even more popular. It’s the perfect shield against disappointment. If the game doesn't match your wild headcanon, you can just post the meme and admit that, yeah, maybe the dev just wanted to make a fun game about a goat and a blue kid.
If you want to stay on top of this, your best bet is to follow the official Undertale / Deltarune BlueSky or Twitter accounts. Just don't expect Toby to confirm your theories. He’s too busy actually making the game—or, you know, not thinking about whatever wild stuff we’re coming up with today.
The take-away here? Sometimes a trash can is just a trash can. If you find yourself spending six hours looking for hidden meanings in a sprite's shoes, just take a deep breath, look at that grainy photo of Toby Fox, and remember that he probably never thought of that.
Stop over-analyzing the pixels and just enjoy the music. It’s better for your health. Trust me.