The 24-year-old Emily “Emiru” Schunk is one of the most successful streamers on Twitch: She plays games like Overwatch 2 or League of Legends. In a stream on December 22, she opened an unusual Christmas gift.
What was inside the Christmas gift? The streamer Emiru unwrapped several gifts from her viewers for Christmas during a live broadcast on Twitch.
A package came with the instruction: “Maybe read this one live, because your chat will roast me otherwise.”
Still, Emiru opened the package. At first, she was pleased with a scented candle that smelled like caramel and coffee beans. She said it smelled very good. Then she turned her attention to the letter that accompanied the candle. She told the viewers she needed to take a closer look at the letter.
Promptly, she held a multi-page letter in her hands that she flipped through and briefly opened her mouth in surprise at what she saw.
She told the fans, smiling somewhat confused:
So this is a boyfriend application, including photos. The application includes his email, location, phone number, university information – ah, and the car he drives.
“I’m sorry, but thanks for the candle!”
How did she react to the application? Quite brutally, without looking into the camera and while tidying up the application, Emiru simply said:
Ehm, I’m way too busy with Overwatch 2. I’m sorry, but thanks for the candle!
Viewers find the application embarrassing – Make fun of it
How is this being discussed? As usual, wickedly. On reddit it says:
- “I should have rather taken out another mortgage and bought her a new house.”
- “What if she sleeps on it one night, decides she no longer wants to play Overwatch, and accepts his application after all? Surely there’s a chance for that.”
- “He gave her a scented candle and only wanted her eternal love in return.”
- “Now that I know I can’t send her a boyfriend application, I have to come up with new plans with this information in mind!”
Both the title of the video and the discussion on reddit are ironically titled “The Mentally Healthiest Emiru Viewer” and “The Least Embarrassing Emiru Viewer.”
This apparently suggests that “all Emiru viewers” secretly would like to be the girlfriend of the streamer and that this one user with the boyfriend application only bravely ventured out of the bushes.
Clip reaches 220,000 viewers because it touches on a sensitive topic
Why is the video so extremely popular? The Twitch clip of the incident has 220,000 views.
The clip touches on a sensitive topic in the relationship between viewers and streamers: There is the idea that viewers of Emiru are secretly in love with the streamer and are “simps” who want to get closer to the streamer by donating money or giving gifts.
This stereotype, that “all” viewers of a streamer are secretly infatuated with her, stubbornly persists on Twitch, and such somewhat embarrassing actions from viewers solidify this image.
It is indeed the case that Twitch streamers like Emiru are seen by some viewers as a “virtual girlfriend” that many men surround and idealize as a dream woman, whom they could win over with an incredibly romantic gesture.
However, this certainly does not apply to all viewers of a streamer.
But when an action comes that supports this stereotype, it is gladly celebrated by people who generally view streamers critically. Therefore, such clips go viral – they are perceived as amusing.
The streamer Pokimane has explicitly warned against such parasocial relationships. This is called when someone forms a connection with a person who cannot really respond to them, like one-sided communication with stars or virtual beings.
In the worst case, this can lead to assaults when people suddenly show up at “their girlfriend’s” house and she panically reacts to the intrusion of a stranger into her private space. But hey, thanks for the candle.
Man breaks into the house of Twitch streamer to “save his princess”
