p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0021a1bc359b5f20177a62670b8607e2" I've always been an "internet girl", as they'd call it. You know, always online when I can be, always web surfing when bored, always obsessively hopping on every new trend. My life isn't completely online, but a great deal of it is, I'll admit that straight up. You might know me as that catgirl with the lipstick that everyone hates, if you've heard of me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0a24d937d643211cc7583eda2e3d57a9" With all of this said, I've, of course, heard about the dark web./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="aeaaa35699e807e505e01141c1e441ee" Thing about that is the weirdest thing I ever found on what was (probably) it was rather hard to explain, and still pretty hard to comprehend. I'll just cut to the chase and describe what happened without dawdling on anything./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="49518b721269f5857ccb8f6e3a339ebb" It was a typical day, I had taken a few pictures beforehand and posted them on Instagram. My mind was empty, per the usual, and it was a weekend, after all. Nothing much to do but laze around my dorm, 2023 wasn't the best year when it came to eventful news./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="b205a4b560414f48071b388eaeb160c4" I checked my email, wondering if any of my friends replied, or the jobs I applied to had asked for interviews. Being a stressful time of year, finding a job was difficult, and college was putting an extremely heavy weight on my shoulders. I assumed I may've missed an assignment or the like, and braced myself to be exhausted when I saw the new notification arrive./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5d19f5b95e0d4763a3c587c480d56b08" Instead, I found this strange email that I didn't expect to see./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d5384cfc2791688efd1d0bc3cd18cea5" I didn't think too much of it, I just assumed it was spam, but the subject line seemed odd, even for a spam email. I squinted a bit to see if I was reading it right./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="72a7a6d9f89dd1f25d0915d5db8a7d47" "Use the Konami Code."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d7f5c82a05997028f8c292212fe6610e" The Konami Code? Of course I had heard of it, being a self proclaimed "gamer girl", I knew it was a Japanese cheat code. I wasn't too into Japanese culture myself, but I knew enough about Japanese video gaming to know that. It was used basically everywhere in every game for some kind of game cheats and stuff like that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="2e98b4bb3ae3e461c5233d89f74a0a48" What did that even mean?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ea599089b8564493d11e7a5aded7292c" Deciding to take a little risk, I clicked on the seemingly scam link, wanting to see where it would lead me. At best, I'd get a laugh. At worst, I'd get a virus./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="266d49fc0ecc138b265e012ebe29e50b" I'd dealt with plenty of those./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f18bd31da252b54acb989a524c8477d9" I was curious to what this email could mean, and why it was linking me to PBS Kids, of all things. I remembered playing on that site back in the 2000s, back when I was a little kid. Was this actually what I guessed it was, some kind of scam or joke?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f8d22cfc43ae8500b3b4145a2f3ee25b" Either way, this catgirl wanted answers that day, and she was going to get them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="fae7e59516026db8939ce6dc7e29b604" Clicking on the link, I was redirected to the typical PBS Kids "Oops! Can't be found!" Error page. I thought this might've been a prank of some kind before I remembered the subject of the email./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="969f6926986b133832f868f27d3fcac8" "Use The Konami Code"./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="69b94d9546e8ec33dd91cb2da8699242" I thought for a minute before typing it in on my keyboard. Up, up, down, down/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="8aef7c3c88474956374b7d4568d15659" Strangely, I was taken to a new link, with nothing but a video. Not YouTube, not Vimeo, just a video against a black webpage./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4d7e741bde97c81dddabea6f2d5036c1" I was surprised, yet curious, and decided to click on the play button. I was more surprised by what I saw next./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f2a4519bf02b5b31e29f0681bab941b1" I was greeted with an old friend that I had never expected to see again, much less on some weird web link./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5660be4fb009b3f50997d3e3fae62136" Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, the video featuring a still image of her typical smiling face and eyes towards the audience, namely me in this case. I hadn't thought about this show in years, and I didn't know why it was coming back to haunt me now. Some kind of strange nostalgia, coincidentally lining up with my own interests, or?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="a95819779357e317321b2aa65d5745e6" Though most people don't know this show as far as I'm aware, Sagwa was a PBS Kids show from the very early 2000s based off a picture book. The show's purpose was to teach about Chinese culture, as well as basic lessons that every kids' show at the time was teaching. Nothing special, really, and not well known in the slightest as it was quietly cancelled in 2002, before I was even born in 2003, watching reruns and episodes online throughout the 2000s and 2010s, my childhood years./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="613eddc821a30c2d2af791d5f0e4c515" I'll be frank, I didn't know anything about Asian culture. The main appeal of the show for me was the cats. Ever since I was a little girl, cats have always been my thing. Cats this, cats that, anything related to cats? I'd always be the first one to hop on./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="eb0a546c2ab9a54e879efd24fc91f9c1" So, of course, a show completely centered around cats was a dream come true for little me...And me currently as well, as my love of cats never lessened./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d27da23be09d6faa66b05af4505408f4" I'd watch the episodes religiously when I was young, and they all began with the intro that was supposed to play now, but didn't. It simply stayed on Sagwa's smiling face for about 10 seconds, silently, unmoving, in a manner that made me style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Needless to say, I was surprised to see the title card, which read "Sagwa" and nothing else, not even in the text style of the show, just plain white text, as if it had been made on an early 2000s computer. I was confused, but then assumed this could possibly be a fanmade thing. However, I doubt a fanmade thing would somehow be linked from an official website./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="1237dd4d7a4deae17b1004435fde243f" Then again, why would PBS Kids, an easily accessible website, implement a feature like this? Some kind of game for older kids, or?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f334f587a040770854c683301fc30971" Either way, I wouldn't think too much on this. This seemed fun for a seemingly mysterious video link, I might get a good laugh or two out of a Newgrounds style animation or the like. Newgrounds was full of weird videos like this seemingly was based off of kids' cartoons, though Barney and Dora were way more likely candidates./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="14c7613b4f175277028ac9e527ce9e69" The title card was followed by another one, which, unlike the uneasy silence of the first one, erupted with a gong, causing me to jump a little in my seat. The text read "Three days left" in the same plain, white text as the previous one did. Instead of fading out or any kind of transition, the title card abruptly cut to an empty room. The room was ancient Asiatic in design, as the series takes place in both location and time period, but bore no decorations, unlike the recognizable decorated palace usually seen. The walls and floor were in place, but bare otherwise, aside from the three in the middle of the fixed shot./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="201e5b653fbd398faf798cbdc1492ae2" The three kittens (Dongwa, Sheegwa, and of course, the titular Sagwa) sat in the middle of the room. However, they were not smiling, laughing, or even talking as they usually started the episodes out with, rather staring at a slowly spinning red top with blank expressions. There was a faint yet almost ominous Chinese flute playing in the background, making me feel rather uneasy. It's not as if the imagery itself was scary, the animation was pretty much the typical style and quality for a Sagwa episode as I remembered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f121ffe1fe84ea33e62f34ee4ae0c5ac" I just wondered why it looked as accurate as it did for an episode that I had apparently never seen before and began to doubt the fanmade episode theory I had in mind. They seemed to at least have access to the original animation files judging by the accuracy./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="35198f05409418517c5f090d6582a5a7" My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another gong, louder this time, startling me once more as the music abruptly cut off, another title card popping up, once again, with no transition or anything. The card read similarly to the previous one, now with "Two days remaining" being read rather than three./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="7e2e9bec5c36ed791b8a55fac0d72af7" I sat there for about the same amount of time as I sat for the first one before the scene abruptly cut once more back to the kittens, same positions, albeit a bit more discomforted (As was I) in both pose and expression. The screen was tinted with a gray overlay as the Chinese flute played once again, this time, more loudly and threateningly, and now with a frantic violin accompanying it. I felt weird, but decided to keep watching, noticing the formerly slow spinning red top was spinning faster this time./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c2241b64d03f2de920230b905a1c7cf0" They seemed to be anxious while watching it, as if it was some kind of time bomb about to go off. The anxious and aggressive "music" didn't help make the situation calmer as it wailed in the background, and I was getting the odd feeling I should click off. However, with my morbid curiosity (Literally) and desire to see what would happen next, I chose not to, keeping my hazel eyes fixed on the screen./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0ab0377c369d370f60368dd354467ab5" Curiosity killed the catgirl./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ce02c06e45a74c14ff2f63e731d37681" The music cut off as the black screen cut in once again, the gong sounding like it would explode my speakers at the volume it was at. The final text read once more, "One day left", as expected, same white text and plain font as the rest were. The scene cut once more to the kittens, who all seemed to be frantic now, the red top spinning quicker than it had been, as if about to topple over. The scene had faded to gray, but what got me most was the music./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f8974d0358f7188da9acced8cba4fc9a" Not only had the flute and violin returned in a violent wail, but a woman was vocalizing, tragically, painfully, almost as if she was trying her best to cry for help. The sound made me exceedingly uncomfortable and made me want to turn off my computer and go outside during the summer day, but I stayed glued to my pink cat ear spinny chair, trying to comprehend what I was seeing, and almost fearing what was next./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4fdbde3ce6090eff64a9366bed381542" Unlike the other segments, which stayed fixed in place, however, this segment slowly, but surely, began to zoom in to the red spinning top after about ten seconds of remaining fixed, a steady, yet quickening low drumbeat in the background accompanying the flute, violin, and vocals, making my black hair stand on end./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0a1fdf6f3f816ff3cf2001306b29bd9b" It just...Didn't feel right, somehow./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c30e304e6cf419f9670a464e36006656" It just didn't./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="7681dd04adf6db73666a2524352a6cee" As the drumbeat quickly strummed, the red top slowly came to a slowing pace and then fell onto its side, all the music stopping./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="59f61e408985b85bb4915af45316316b" There was silent for only a few seconds before the screen flashed quickly, the sound of a gunshot blaring through my speakers, making me nearly jump out of my chair as I leapt into the air in place./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0dc517ac90dadd9e0ae4f2c1f8a0b1b0" Shaking my head as I recovered from the initial shock, I turned my attention back towards the screen, seeing what was happening now./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="04d4a5a220837f6e3192e3942b1ec090" The scene focused on a war stricken China, Sagwa and her siblings running away in fear as yelling and gunshots could be heard from all directions, blaring through my speaker as I watched the burning buildings behind the cats. This wasn't at all what I expected, but I sat in silence throughout the screaming, not even bothering to notice the scene was still in the grayscale it had faded into./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="6a2fc6cbc163376f24c081ca5b1ca66a" None of our protagonists spoke, as they hadn't in the beginning, only frantically looking around for a place to escape. I found myself feeling as helpless as them as they scrambled to find a place that hadn't been burned or bombed, no sign of the human characters anywhere, the only sign of life being the angry screaming in what seemed to be Mandarin in the background./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ba81e0ea51527d4b9c6c90cd8596b9b3" The music played once again, but far more intensely, and the woman's vocalizing sounded pained and desperate, as if begging for help. I became very stressed out, and my eyes only became more stressed as some kind of explosive was dropped on the kittens, causing a loud explosion to play as several incomprehensible images flashed on the screen. I didn't make out what they were, but I didn't care, as I decided to spare my vision by closing my eyes, waiting for the screaming and bombs and "music" of agony to stop./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="36971cbf5ed8f878f80fd2fe8691d077" What was this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="387e3ef3d9abd9914c441ba5ea1d0038" What the hell was this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5102ca685ed69007c10f7862b6c5c2a7" Was college stress getting to me? The job hunting? Was I just delirious?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="06998d8428fb11526bac8e78f36329e4" Either way, I wanted it to stop, this was all so, well...Overwhelming./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="82cff8be4d3f5fd45fcda4d8a3af7fa3" Eventually, when my ears couldn't take it anymore.../p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4e8c2296041c1bcd21976db06dd00a62" It stopped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="89f412bc77ab80667c6dc37f6054d538" It just...Stopped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="45174f2851d6abdeb21107e294df8c40" Uncovering my eyes and ears, I saw the screen had faded back in, still in greyscale. The camera panned over in silence, showing the desolated remains of China. There was no sign of any life whatsoever, human or feline. Not even the annoying little bat that always followed Sagwa around was there. All there was were the remains of buildings, some torn down, some burning, and the loneliness of the lack of presence./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ad9214d4031171c5805a059efa64612a" It almost made me feel sad in a way despite how overwhelmed I was./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e00c71408bfef694deeabc2e8cd0034a" The camera finally came to an end, focusing on Sagwa, or, what seemed to be left of her, anyways. While she was clearly alive, she seemed beaten up, her collar torn, and her fur matted. While I usually would've laughed at this, comparing her fur to my own long black hair, somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to joke about this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="6d2bd991c3052b7d69524fdd539aaa58" It felt strange seeing a familiar character like this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="170a71ccf499c53a60b57a82cdec92ab" Sound was absent for about half a minute, before, through the silence, a few notes played on my speakers, before more instrumentals joined in, clearly being the start to a song. Despite what I had seen so far, I was still taken aback by this, as the show was never a musical. Then again, it was obvious this wasn't made as a "normal episode", anyway. I waited for the song to begin, a nostalgic and calming melody reaching my ears, played by Chinese instruments, albeit sweetly, unlike the desperate and crying wail of instruments that had met my ears before./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ebc4257fb5439c1240b2b53ef9650b81" There was a long shot of Sagwa, her fur blowing in the wind in surprisingly good animation for an early 2000s show, before she closed her eyes. She then began to sing in a voice that wasn't Holly Gauther-Frankel's, or anyone else's in the show, for that matter. I couldn't recognize the melody before it occurred to me: She was singing a Chinese lullaby, beginning to walk as she did so./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="15f1072adfaa121cadac03c011a680db" While Chinese culture was the basis of the show, the introduction to this soothing yet haunting lullaby was surprising after the seeming bloodshed and obvious destruction I had just witnessed, but welcome, as I closed my eyes and listened to her sing, walking through the desolated town./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="83458fc29cb670fabaf494763d395be3" I almost forgot about the anxiety I had felt just moments before this scene./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="3077b066ce4ca3049beb6d2acce857bf" Despite the unsettling imagery of the burning buildings and the corpses, she seemed oddly at peace, walking calmly as she sang, as the destroyed buildings and smoke slowly became less and less as she made her way onto a grassy hill, overviewing the sun from behind as she sang the final line, the animation nearly bringing a tear to my eye./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4827fc2ebe5b161f647806901694b607" How was it this well done for a show on a clearly tight budget, if this was even made by the creators (Which I will admit, I highly doubted considering the content, but at the same time, I couldn't imagine anyone with no connections to the studio making something so convincing)?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="2885cad2e2a5129aa81087b82f6ae9e8" As Sagwa concluded singing, the instrumentals slowly faded out, concluding the song to follow her. I was left with a shot for about five seconds of her staring out, before the camera cut to a shot of her eyes, which stared at the camera for about 3 seconds before closing, the scene fading to black rather than cutting out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="eb6316a9a94798dcc5b6b0d252a4f36c" I thought it was over before the gong blared out once again, a message appearing on the screen that was far too quick to read. After the gong's reverb faded away, I found my page redirecting right back to the error, back to the original PBS Kids website./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="9b35840567444589056db71a7775b75c" I didn't even try entering the code again./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d3c902a234069d790188de70bebc7d7f" All I could do was sit there and think one thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d6a56a92496718db2b2ffb5b9dc10999" What the actual hell did I just watch?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="8a7ab20ec0ab3262ce329c7dcb399a4e"***/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="a560ec5b015788a3a21d8cb4927abdca" Of course, the episode lingered in my mind for the longest time. While it wasn't a major priority of mine, being stressed out enough already with other matters, I decided to find some closure after thinking about it for a while./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d6e656c6bb143f3c2764fe92769cc10f" Who would I go to? Well, emailing PBS Kids, of course./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="95a15db16774b7633d59898a7ef44619" I sent an email to PBS Kids, hoping for a more satisfying response than what my brain had made up, that it was some kind of clever trolling or I simply dreamed the whole thing up myself one day. Maybe they'd know about the strange link hosted on their site. I doubted it, as I could tell the story came out of some kind of hacker or the like, but I decided it wouldn't hurt to try./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="aa636e3444530a165e7ae947e87dd292" About two days later, I saw a reply to my email, which I immediately clicked style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Unfortunately, not much luck came from this, either./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c2caeaf446e75842efdf49c14f8845ea" "Hello Clare (Yes, that's my name),br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / Thank you for contacting PBS Kids! We unfortunately don't have any answer to your question as Sagwa and all related content was taken off of our website in 2009. Sorry for any confusion!br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / Signed,br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / The PBS Kids Team"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="fd861712fc06c20c6026427b2f3e66ef" Despite the search turning out as a bust and the fact I was way more concerned with college than some creepy link I found online, I thought about it for a while. The episode wasn't much more disturbing than anything I would've found on the Dark Web and bestgore, but questions still lingered in my mind./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f91a21a3e05b05f0d11884d3ee0b617a" Why was the episode made? Who made it? Whoever made it did it accurately for sure. What was it trying to tell me? What did the Konami Code have to do with anything? Was it fanmade? If it was, why did it look so accurate? Did a creator of the show make it? Was it trying to tell me something? Was it just some kind of sick joke? Was this why the show was cancelled so quietly? Was this actually the last episode?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c579730035c3a728eccd3490831e98df" There's a lot of questions left over, but only one answer./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="055cd78cedfc8f614715971aca341404" Really? I just don't know, and I don't have the time to think about it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0a24d937d643211cc7583eda2e3d57a9" With all of this said, I've, of course, heard about the dark web./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="aeaaa35699e807e505e01141c1e441ee" Thing about that is the weirdest thing I ever found on what was (probably) it was rather hard to explain, and still pretty hard to comprehend. I'll just cut to the chase and describe what happened without dawdling on anything./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="49518b721269f5857ccb8f6e3a339ebb" It was a typical day, I had taken a few pictures beforehand and posted them on Instagram. My mind was empty, per the usual, and it was a weekend, after all. Nothing much to do but laze around my dorm, 2023 wasn't the best year when it came to eventful news./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="b205a4b560414f48071b388eaeb160c4" I checked my email, wondering if any of my friends replied, or the jobs I applied to had asked for interviews. Being a stressful time of year, finding a job was difficult, and college was putting an extremely heavy weight on my shoulders. I assumed I may've missed an assignment or the like, and braced myself to be exhausted when I saw the new notification arrive./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5d19f5b95e0d4763a3c587c480d56b08" Instead, I found this strange email that I didn't expect to see./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d5384cfc2791688efd1d0bc3cd18cea5" I didn't think too much of it, I just assumed it was spam, but the subject line seemed odd, even for a spam email. I squinted a bit to see if I was reading it right./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="72a7a6d9f89dd1f25d0915d5db8a7d47" "Use the Konami Code."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d7f5c82a05997028f8c292212fe6610e" The Konami Code? Of course I had heard of it, being a self proclaimed "gamer girl", I knew it was a Japanese cheat code. I wasn't too into Japanese culture myself, but I knew enough about Japanese video gaming to know that. It was used basically everywhere in every game for some kind of game cheats and stuff like that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="2e98b4bb3ae3e461c5233d89f74a0a48" What did that even mean?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ea599089b8564493d11e7a5aded7292c" Deciding to take a little risk, I clicked on the seemingly scam link, wanting to see where it would lead me. At best, I'd get a laugh. At worst, I'd get a virus./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="266d49fc0ecc138b265e012ebe29e50b" I'd dealt with plenty of those./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f18bd31da252b54acb989a524c8477d9" I was curious to what this email could mean, and why it was linking me to PBS Kids, of all things. I remembered playing on that site back in the 2000s, back when I was a little kid. Was this actually what I guessed it was, some kind of scam or joke?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f8d22cfc43ae8500b3b4145a2f3ee25b" Either way, this catgirl wanted answers that day, and she was going to get them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="fae7e59516026db8939ce6dc7e29b604" Clicking on the link, I was redirected to the typical PBS Kids "Oops! Can't be found!" Error page. I thought this might've been a prank of some kind before I remembered the subject of the email./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="969f6926986b133832f868f27d3fcac8" "Use The Konami Code"./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="69b94d9546e8ec33dd91cb2da8699242" I thought for a minute before typing it in on my keyboard. Up, up, down, down/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="8aef7c3c88474956374b7d4568d15659" Strangely, I was taken to a new link, with nothing but a video. Not YouTube, not Vimeo, just a video against a black webpage./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4d7e741bde97c81dddabea6f2d5036c1" I was surprised, yet curious, and decided to click on the play button. I was more surprised by what I saw next./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f2a4519bf02b5b31e29f0681bab941b1" I was greeted with an old friend that I had never expected to see again, much less on some weird web link./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5660be4fb009b3f50997d3e3fae62136" Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, the video featuring a still image of her typical smiling face and eyes towards the audience, namely me in this case. I hadn't thought about this show in years, and I didn't know why it was coming back to haunt me now. Some kind of strange nostalgia, coincidentally lining up with my own interests, or?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="a95819779357e317321b2aa65d5745e6" Though most people don't know this show as far as I'm aware, Sagwa was a PBS Kids show from the very early 2000s based off a picture book. The show's purpose was to teach about Chinese culture, as well as basic lessons that every kids' show at the time was teaching. Nothing special, really, and not well known in the slightest as it was quietly cancelled in 2002, before I was even born in 2003, watching reruns and episodes online throughout the 2000s and 2010s, my childhood years./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="613eddc821a30c2d2af791d5f0e4c515" I'll be frank, I didn't know anything about Asian culture. The main appeal of the show for me was the cats. Ever since I was a little girl, cats have always been my thing. Cats this, cats that, anything related to cats? I'd always be the first one to hop on./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="eb0a546c2ab9a54e879efd24fc91f9c1" So, of course, a show completely centered around cats was a dream come true for little me...And me currently as well, as my love of cats never lessened./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d27da23be09d6faa66b05af4505408f4" I'd watch the episodes religiously when I was young, and they all began with the intro that was supposed to play now, but didn't. It simply stayed on Sagwa's smiling face for about 10 seconds, silently, unmoving, in a manner that made me style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Needless to say, I was surprised to see the title card, which read "Sagwa" and nothing else, not even in the text style of the show, just plain white text, as if it had been made on an early 2000s computer. I was confused, but then assumed this could possibly be a fanmade thing. However, I doubt a fanmade thing would somehow be linked from an official website./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="1237dd4d7a4deae17b1004435fde243f" Then again, why would PBS Kids, an easily accessible website, implement a feature like this? Some kind of game for older kids, or?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f334f587a040770854c683301fc30971" Either way, I wouldn't think too much on this. This seemed fun for a seemingly mysterious video link, I might get a good laugh or two out of a Newgrounds style animation or the like. Newgrounds was full of weird videos like this seemingly was based off of kids' cartoons, though Barney and Dora were way more likely candidates./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="14c7613b4f175277028ac9e527ce9e69" The title card was followed by another one, which, unlike the uneasy silence of the first one, erupted with a gong, causing me to jump a little in my seat. The text read "Three days left" in the same plain, white text as the previous one did. Instead of fading out or any kind of transition, the title card abruptly cut to an empty room. The room was ancient Asiatic in design, as the series takes place in both location and time period, but bore no decorations, unlike the recognizable decorated palace usually seen. The walls and floor were in place, but bare otherwise, aside from the three in the middle of the fixed shot./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="201e5b653fbd398faf798cbdc1492ae2" The three kittens (Dongwa, Sheegwa, and of course, the titular Sagwa) sat in the middle of the room. However, they were not smiling, laughing, or even talking as they usually started the episodes out with, rather staring at a slowly spinning red top with blank expressions. There was a faint yet almost ominous Chinese flute playing in the background, making me feel rather uneasy. It's not as if the imagery itself was scary, the animation was pretty much the typical style and quality for a Sagwa episode as I remembered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f121ffe1fe84ea33e62f34ee4ae0c5ac" I just wondered why it looked as accurate as it did for an episode that I had apparently never seen before and began to doubt the fanmade episode theory I had in mind. They seemed to at least have access to the original animation files judging by the accuracy./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="35198f05409418517c5f090d6582a5a7" My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another gong, louder this time, startling me once more as the music abruptly cut off, another title card popping up, once again, with no transition or anything. The card read similarly to the previous one, now with "Two days remaining" being read rather than three./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="7e2e9bec5c36ed791b8a55fac0d72af7" I sat there for about the same amount of time as I sat for the first one before the scene abruptly cut once more back to the kittens, same positions, albeit a bit more discomforted (As was I) in both pose and expression. The screen was tinted with a gray overlay as the Chinese flute played once again, this time, more loudly and threateningly, and now with a frantic violin accompanying it. I felt weird, but decided to keep watching, noticing the formerly slow spinning red top was spinning faster this time./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c2241b64d03f2de920230b905a1c7cf0" They seemed to be anxious while watching it, as if it was some kind of time bomb about to go off. The anxious and aggressive "music" didn't help make the situation calmer as it wailed in the background, and I was getting the odd feeling I should click off. However, with my morbid curiosity (Literally) and desire to see what would happen next, I chose not to, keeping my hazel eyes fixed on the screen./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0ab0377c369d370f60368dd354467ab5" Curiosity killed the catgirl./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ce02c06e45a74c14ff2f63e731d37681" The music cut off as the black screen cut in once again, the gong sounding like it would explode my speakers at the volume it was at. The final text read once more, "One day left", as expected, same white text and plain font as the rest were. The scene cut once more to the kittens, who all seemed to be frantic now, the red top spinning quicker than it had been, as if about to topple over. The scene had faded to gray, but what got me most was the music./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f8974d0358f7188da9acced8cba4fc9a" Not only had the flute and violin returned in a violent wail, but a woman was vocalizing, tragically, painfully, almost as if she was trying her best to cry for help. The sound made me exceedingly uncomfortable and made me want to turn off my computer and go outside during the summer day, but I stayed glued to my pink cat ear spinny chair, trying to comprehend what I was seeing, and almost fearing what was next./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4fdbde3ce6090eff64a9366bed381542" Unlike the other segments, which stayed fixed in place, however, this segment slowly, but surely, began to zoom in to the red spinning top after about ten seconds of remaining fixed, a steady, yet quickening low drumbeat in the background accompanying the flute, violin, and vocals, making my black hair stand on end./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0a1fdf6f3f816ff3cf2001306b29bd9b" It just...Didn't feel right, somehow./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c30e304e6cf419f9670a464e36006656" It just didn't./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="7681dd04adf6db73666a2524352a6cee" As the drumbeat quickly strummed, the red top slowly came to a slowing pace and then fell onto its side, all the music stopping./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="59f61e408985b85bb4915af45316316b" There was silent for only a few seconds before the screen flashed quickly, the sound of a gunshot blaring through my speakers, making me nearly jump out of my chair as I leapt into the air in place./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0dc517ac90dadd9e0ae4f2c1f8a0b1b0" Shaking my head as I recovered from the initial shock, I turned my attention back towards the screen, seeing what was happening now./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="04d4a5a220837f6e3192e3942b1ec090" The scene focused on a war stricken China, Sagwa and her siblings running away in fear as yelling and gunshots could be heard from all directions, blaring through my speaker as I watched the burning buildings behind the cats. This wasn't at all what I expected, but I sat in silence throughout the screaming, not even bothering to notice the scene was still in the grayscale it had faded into./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="6a2fc6cbc163376f24c081ca5b1ca66a" None of our protagonists spoke, as they hadn't in the beginning, only frantically looking around for a place to escape. I found myself feeling as helpless as them as they scrambled to find a place that hadn't been burned or bombed, no sign of the human characters anywhere, the only sign of life being the angry screaming in what seemed to be Mandarin in the background./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ba81e0ea51527d4b9c6c90cd8596b9b3" The music played once again, but far more intensely, and the woman's vocalizing sounded pained and desperate, as if begging for help. I became very stressed out, and my eyes only became more stressed as some kind of explosive was dropped on the kittens, causing a loud explosion to play as several incomprehensible images flashed on the screen. I didn't make out what they were, but I didn't care, as I decided to spare my vision by closing my eyes, waiting for the screaming and bombs and "music" of agony to stop./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="36971cbf5ed8f878f80fd2fe8691d077" What was this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="387e3ef3d9abd9914c441ba5ea1d0038" What the hell was this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="5102ca685ed69007c10f7862b6c5c2a7" Was college stress getting to me? The job hunting? Was I just delirious?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="06998d8428fb11526bac8e78f36329e4" Either way, I wanted it to stop, this was all so, well...Overwhelming./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="82cff8be4d3f5fd45fcda4d8a3af7fa3" Eventually, when my ears couldn't take it anymore.../p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4e8c2296041c1bcd21976db06dd00a62" It stopped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="89f412bc77ab80667c6dc37f6054d538" It just...Stopped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="45174f2851d6abdeb21107e294df8c40" Uncovering my eyes and ears, I saw the screen had faded back in, still in greyscale. The camera panned over in silence, showing the desolated remains of China. There was no sign of any life whatsoever, human or feline. Not even the annoying little bat that always followed Sagwa around was there. All there was were the remains of buildings, some torn down, some burning, and the loneliness of the lack of presence./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ad9214d4031171c5805a059efa64612a" It almost made me feel sad in a way despite how overwhelmed I was./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e00c71408bfef694deeabc2e8cd0034a" The camera finally came to an end, focusing on Sagwa, or, what seemed to be left of her, anyways. While she was clearly alive, she seemed beaten up, her collar torn, and her fur matted. While I usually would've laughed at this, comparing her fur to my own long black hair, somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to joke about this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="6d2bd991c3052b7d69524fdd539aaa58" It felt strange seeing a familiar character like this./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="170a71ccf499c53a60b57a82cdec92ab" Sound was absent for about half a minute, before, through the silence, a few notes played on my speakers, before more instrumentals joined in, clearly being the start to a song. Despite what I had seen so far, I was still taken aback by this, as the show was never a musical. Then again, it was obvious this wasn't made as a "normal episode", anyway. I waited for the song to begin, a nostalgic and calming melody reaching my ears, played by Chinese instruments, albeit sweetly, unlike the desperate and crying wail of instruments that had met my ears before./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ebc4257fb5439c1240b2b53ef9650b81" There was a long shot of Sagwa, her fur blowing in the wind in surprisingly good animation for an early 2000s show, before she closed her eyes. She then began to sing in a voice that wasn't Holly Gauther-Frankel's, or anyone else's in the show, for that matter. I couldn't recognize the melody before it occurred to me: She was singing a Chinese lullaby, beginning to walk as she did so./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="15f1072adfaa121cadac03c011a680db" While Chinese culture was the basis of the show, the introduction to this soothing yet haunting lullaby was surprising after the seeming bloodshed and obvious destruction I had just witnessed, but welcome, as I closed my eyes and listened to her sing, walking through the desolated town./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="83458fc29cb670fabaf494763d395be3" I almost forgot about the anxiety I had felt just moments before this scene./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="3077b066ce4ca3049beb6d2acce857bf" Despite the unsettling imagery of the burning buildings and the corpses, she seemed oddly at peace, walking calmly as she sang, as the destroyed buildings and smoke slowly became less and less as she made her way onto a grassy hill, overviewing the sun from behind as she sang the final line, the animation nearly bringing a tear to my eye./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="4827fc2ebe5b161f647806901694b607" How was it this well done for a show on a clearly tight budget, if this was even made by the creators (Which I will admit, I highly doubted considering the content, but at the same time, I couldn't imagine anyone with no connections to the studio making something so convincing)?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="2885cad2e2a5129aa81087b82f6ae9e8" As Sagwa concluded singing, the instrumentals slowly faded out, concluding the song to follow her. I was left with a shot for about five seconds of her staring out, before the camera cut to a shot of her eyes, which stared at the camera for about 3 seconds before closing, the scene fading to black rather than cutting out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="eb6316a9a94798dcc5b6b0d252a4f36c" I thought it was over before the gong blared out once again, a message appearing on the screen that was far too quick to read. After the gong's reverb faded away, I found my page redirecting right back to the error, back to the original PBS Kids website./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="9b35840567444589056db71a7775b75c" I didn't even try entering the code again./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d3c902a234069d790188de70bebc7d7f" All I could do was sit there and think one thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d6a56a92496718db2b2ffb5b9dc10999" What the actual hell did I just watch?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="8a7ab20ec0ab3262ce329c7dcb399a4e"***/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="a560ec5b015788a3a21d8cb4927abdca" Of course, the episode lingered in my mind for the longest time. While it wasn't a major priority of mine, being stressed out enough already with other matters, I decided to find some closure after thinking about it for a while./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="d6e656c6bb143f3c2764fe92769cc10f" Who would I go to? Well, emailing PBS Kids, of course./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="95a15db16774b7633d59898a7ef44619" I sent an email to PBS Kids, hoping for a more satisfying response than what my brain had made up, that it was some kind of clever trolling or I simply dreamed the whole thing up myself one day. Maybe they'd know about the strange link hosted on their site. I doubted it, as I could tell the story came out of some kind of hacker or the like, but I decided it wouldn't hurt to try./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="aa636e3444530a165e7ae947e87dd292" About two days later, I saw a reply to my email, which I immediately clicked style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Unfortunately, not much luck came from this, either./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c2caeaf446e75842efdf49c14f8845ea" "Hello Clare (Yes, that's my name),br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / Thank you for contacting PBS Kids! We unfortunately don't have any answer to your question as Sagwa and all related content was taken off of our website in 2009. Sorry for any confusion!br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / Signed,br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / The PBS Kids Team"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="fd861712fc06c20c6026427b2f3e66ef" Despite the search turning out as a bust and the fact I was way more concerned with college than some creepy link I found online, I thought about it for a while. The episode wasn't much more disturbing than anything I would've found on the Dark Web and bestgore, but questions still lingered in my mind./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="f91a21a3e05b05f0d11884d3ee0b617a" Why was the episode made? Who made it? Whoever made it did it accurately for sure. What was it trying to tell me? What did the Konami Code have to do with anything? Was it fanmade? If it was, why did it look so accurate? Did a creator of the show make it? Was it trying to tell me something? Was it just some kind of sick joke? Was this why the show was cancelled so quietly? Was this actually the last episode?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="c579730035c3a728eccd3490831e98df" There's a lot of questions left over, but only one answer./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="055cd78cedfc8f614715971aca341404" Really? I just don't know, and I don't have the time to think about it./p