Everything is trash—the news cycle stinks and the world is a stressful sinkhole. But one contender has entered to save us all, swooping in like a divine act of self-care—and no, we're not talking about Gritty. Allow us to introduce Bongo Cat, the musical feline who swangs their melodious paws on any instrument they can find:
Bongo Cat was born back in May, when internet artist Rogue created the first drawing of the cat—its congenial blob form, adorable paws, and slightly amused face—originally named Rogu. But Rogu quickly morphed into Bongo Cat after Twitter user @DitzyFlama responded to one of Rogue's videos, editing Rogu into the bongo master we know and love today.
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Since then, Bongo Cat has become our savior, rescuing our beleaguered timelines and news feeds from the trash fire that is 2018. Bongo Cat's popularity has even spawned accounts dedicated to archiving every instance of the meme and its inevitable crossovers: Super Mario Brothers theme, It's Wednesday My Dudes, Bowsette, Donky Kong, man playing "My Heart Will Go On" terribly on his recorder. Bongo Cat's got you covered. They're all just a testament to Bongo Cat's broad appeal and healing power:
Even though Bongo Cat got their start on the bongos, they've rapidly taken over the internet by becoming a well-versed multi-instrumentalist who also plays the bass, the keyboard, the electric guitar, and the sexy saxophone. Bongo cat also sings and sometimes screams into the sky. Many of the most popular memes are dedicated to simply depicting one or multiple Bongo Cats playing a cover of a popular or meme-worthy song. One Twitter account is even dedicated exclusively to bringing beautiful Bongo Cat K-Pop covers into the world.
Someone even made a Bongo Cat theme song that sounds like it was produced by Kygo and is evidently someone's ringtone. Honestly, a work of art:
And sometimes Bongo Cat is the only one who can truly get at our emotions, and is the best way to cope with the flood of seemingly endless, terrible news:
Bongo Cat has already opened the door to limitless possibilities: There is no crisis Bongo Cat can't ease, no hardship they can't soothe. All hail Bongo Cat, our mighty ruler, the only ray of goddamn light in this dreary world.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow Nicole Clark on Twitter.