The Meaning
PepeHands is an emote (short for emoticon) popularized on the well-known streaming platform Twitch TV. As its name suggests, it features the iconic Pepe the Frog crying and raising his hands up towards the sky.
The main meaning of the emote is to show sadness, either true or ironic, which is never a rare case in any regular Twitch chat. It is a way to replace the sad emoji face in various situations.
How to Use It Properly
Maybe the easiest way for us to show you the proper usage of PepeHands is to give you a simple example:
Let’s say you are watching your favorite streamer play League of Legends. Now, imagine they are on a 24-hour run to reach Challenger (the highest rank in LoL for those of you unfamiliar with the game) before the season ends and the ranked queue closes.
You have been with them for hours, watching every game they play, having fun, and cheering them on during difficult games. They only need to win one more game, and they reach their goal. However, since the ranked season is almost over, they only get one more chance.
Unfortunately, after a nail-biting game you watched closely from the edge of your seat, they lose. So naturally, you feel sad and disappointed that they couldn’t make it.
How do you express your feelings and give virtual support?
You throw some PepeHands in the chat, of course.
The Origin
Now, let’s take a look at how the emote originated.
How did PepeHands become such a vital part of the large collection of emotes featuring Pepe the Frog (such as Pepega, PepeLaugh, monkaS, etc.)?
Most Twitch emotes don’t have a complicated backstory, and neither does this one. In September 2016, user OinkerBob added PepeHands to the FrankerFaceZ (browser extension for Twitch that improves your user experience in many ways).
How It Became Popular
At least this question is a simple one to answer. How does anything become popular on Twitch?
People spam it in the chat all day long, and, before you know it, PepeHands has reached the Hall of Fame of Twitch emotes.
To be more precise, it became trendy during 2017, when the viewers of a popular streamer Forsen started using it in his chat.
Thanks to this article, now you also know what it means, and you will be able to use it proudly when the next opportunity arises.
