polarizing discourse communities and their chosen setting.

Almost every discourse community has their inside jokes and memes that are popular within their respective community, but some of them may look intimidating; two popular fandoms, which personally are my favorite, would be the team fortress 2 community, and the s.t.a.l.k.e.r community for their use of popular catchphrases and impressive lore but the community itself may surprise you. For beginners, the team fortress 2 communities is one of the oldest online gaming communities in the market reaching hundreds of thousands of players worldwide; the community, while it may be a bit toxic, has a strong knit community for people to enjoy from both young to old. The game itself can be best described as a hat simulator with tons of customization and freedom of expression. Team fortress also includes many famous lines including “This is a bucket” followed by a dramatic “no” or “The heavy is dead”, which came from a hilarious animation involving the characters. The next example would be more of an example of pretty dark humor because of the horror and tragedy of the setting. The game s.t.a.l.k.e.r is an apocalyptic open world survival setting where you aren’t the main character and the location is set in Ukraine just a decade ago. The community itself focuses more on the brutality of survival in a grimdark setting, however they are a very friendly community for many people who want to learn more about the setting and those that enjoy a sense of camaraderie. They appreciate the few light moments in the setting, one of them includes the famous phrases of “He was a good stalker” a famous song which entail a somber tune to the game, and “ah nu, cheeki breeki iv damke”, a sort of comedic line that is said by one of the basic enemies in the game that shows the polarity of comedy in a sad setting. In conclusion, both online fandoms contain their own cultures and ideas, which may seem alien to others, but in truth can be deceiving. I assure you that it is worth exploring something out of your comfort zone. Who knows what you may find, you might experience ideas that might seem unique and fun to learn.