FLASHBANG

The FLASHBANG emote depicts a white cat being suddenly blinded by the bright flash of a computer monitor. This emote represents a sudden, blinding light or an unexpected bright moment that startles viewers or streamers. It's essentially a visual representation of being 'flashbanged' - similar to the disorienting effect of flashbang grenades in video games.

The FLASHBANG emote appears to be a custom emote available on 7TV, a third-party emote service for Twitch that allows streamers to use additional emotes beyond Twitch's native offerings. The emote features a white cat being startled by a bright flash from a computer monitor.

While the exact creator and precise date of creation aren't definitively documented, this emote likely emerged from the gaming community's meme culture around 'flashbang' moments in games like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, where flashbang grenades temporarily blind players. The emote adapts this concept into a humorous cat reaction format, which became popular in streaming communities in recent years.

The FLASHBANG emote is typically used in Twitch chat in the following situations:

• When a streamer suddenly increases their screen brightness
• During moments when a game or video has an unexpected bright flash
• When a streamer opens a predominantly white screen or webpage
• To react to any sudden, jarring visual change in a stream
• When a streamer is playing a game and gets hit with an in-game flashbang
• During stream transitions that involve bright white flashes