# Smiling Sweating Emoji > Smiling Sweating Emoji is a June 2023 AI-generated Midjourney image of a yellow emoji with a smirk and visible sweat drops on a black background, viral as a reaction image and the centerpiece of the 'Imagine 2 Onions' meme format. The Smiling, Sweating Emoji is an AI-generated image of a yellow emoji smirking with visible sweat drops against a black background. Created using Midjourney in June 2023, the image went viral across Twitter/X and Instagram in late 2023 as both a reaction image and the centerpiece of the "Imagine 2 Onions" meme format. ## Origin Know Your Meme user realboneduck created the Smiling, Sweating Emoji using Midjourney on June 19, 2023[2]. The user's Midjourney prompt drew inspiration from the smirking emoticon popular in Discord servers[2]. Screenshots documenting the original creation were later submitted to Imgur by realboneduck[2]. The image's first known appearance in the wild came on October 6, 2023, when X user @Demonic7340 shared it within a message screenshot, picking up 32 likes over the following four months[2]. According to realboneduck, the original repost likely came from one of two since-deleted X accounts, either @TroubledHonky or @ChillAssMinor[2]. - **Platform:** Midjourney (image creation), Instagram / Twitter/X (viral spread) - **Creator:** realboneduck (Midjourney creator), @hugeplateofketchup8 (popularized via Imagine 2 Onions) - **Date:** 2023 ## Overview The Smiling, Sweating Emoji is a hyper-realistic rendering of a yellow emoji face set against a solid black background[2]. The emoji wears a knowing smirk while beads of sweat glisten on its surface, giving it a weirdly human quality that sets it apart from standard emoji designs[2]. The image was generated through Midjourney AI, inspired by a smirking emoticon commonly used on Discord[2]. Its slightly uncanny, almost too-detailed appearance made it perfect for expressing nervous confidence, guilty pleasure, or smug self-awareness in online conversations. ## How It Spread The emoji's breakout moment arrived on November 7, 2023, when Instagram user @hugeplateofketchup8 paired it with the caption "Imagine 2 Onions. Heck, Imagine 3 Onions"[2]. That post racked up over 129,100 likes in three months and launched the "Imagine 2 Onions" meme format[1]. The absurd simplicity of imagining onions paired with the emoji's sweaty smirk struck a nerve with Instagram's meme community[1]. Three days later, on November 10, 2023, X user @BigBabyScumbag posted the image with the caption "when the waiter repeats my order back to me and it sounds fire," earning over 89,000 likes in three months[2]. That tweet got widely reposted on Instagram in the following days[2]. The emoji spread to Reddit by late November 2023, appearing in a No Nut November meme on /r/nonutnovember that pulled in over 220 upvotes[2]. An AI-expanded version of the image with a wider crop also began circulating, with X user @fallenchungus sharing one such version on December 25, 2023, that collected over 3,800 likes[2]. A higher-quality, wider-cropped version was later shared by Redditor comicguy69 in the /r/Persona5 comment section on October 23, 2024[2]. The "Imagine 2 Onions" format migrated to TikTok as well, where users created variations with escalating numbers of onions, though the joke's simplicity meant the format burned through its novelty relatively quickly on that platform[1]. ## How to Use The Smiling, Sweating Emoji works in two main ways. As a **reaction image**, people typically drop it into conversations or replies to express guilty pleasure, nervous excitement, or smug satisfaction. The emoji's expression reads as "I know this is wrong but I'm into it." Common reaction captions follow the format "when [slightly embarrassing situation that secretly feels good]." As an **image macro**, the emoji gets paired with absurdist or non-sequitur text, as in the original "Imagine 2 Onions" format. The humor comes from the mismatch between the emoji's intense, sweaty expression and the mundane or random text overlay. ## Fun Facts - The original Midjourney prompt was based on a simple Discord smirking emoticon, but the AI produced something far more detailed and unsettling than expected[2]. - The original reposter's identity is still unknown, as both suspected accounts (@TroubledHonky and @ChillAssMinor) were deleted before the image went viral[2]. - The "Imagine 2 Onions" format drew some criticism for being a "one-joke meme" with limited room for evolution[1]. - Despite the quick burnout of the onions format on TikTok, the base emoji image kept finding new life as a standalone reaction image on X and Reddit into 2024[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Smiling, Sweating Emoji? It's an AI-generated image of a yellow emoji face smirking with visible sweat drops against a black background, used as a reaction image and image macro across social media[2]. ### Where did Smiling, Sweating Emoji come from? KYM user realboneduck created it using Midjourney on June 19, 2023, inspired by a smirking emoticon used on Discord[2]. ### What does Smiling, Sweating Emoji mean? The emoji expresses nervous confidence, guilty pleasure, or smug self-awareness. It's typically used when someone knows a situation is a little embarrassing but enjoys it anyway[2]. ### How do you use Smiling, Sweating Emoji? Either drop it as a reaction image in replies and group chats, or pair it with absurdist or relatable text in an image macro format, similar to the "Imagine 2 Onions" style[1]. ### Is Smiling, Sweating Emoji still popular? The emoji was at peak popularity in late 2023 and early 2024. While the "Imagine 2 Onions" format faded relatively quickly, the base image still circulates as a reaction image, with wider-cropped versions appearing on Reddit as late as October 2024[2]. ### Who created the Smiling, Sweating Emoji? A user known as realboneduck generated it on Midjourney on June 19, 2023, as documented through Imgur screenshots[2]. ### What is the "Imagine 2 Onions" meme? It's an image macro format pairing the Smiling, Sweating Emoji with the text "Imagine 2 Onions. Heck, Imagine 3 Onions," created by Instagram user @hugeplateofketchup8 on November 7, 2023. The post earned over 129,100 likes[2]. ### Why did the emoji go viral? The hyper-realistic, slightly uncanny quality of the AI-generated face, combined with its perfectly ambiguous expression, made it versatile for both absurdist humor and relatable reaction posts[1]. ### Was the Smiling, Sweating Emoji made with AI? Yes, it was generated using Midjourney, an AI image generation tool[2]. ## References 1. [Unleash the Power of Imagining with 2 Onions Meme]() 2. [Smiling, Sweating Emoji - Know Your Meme]() 3. [List of emoticons]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/smiling-sweating-emoji Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library