Come and Learn with Pibby! originated from a viral trailer released by Adult Swim on Halloween 2021. Created by Dodge Greenley, the concept centers on a cheerful, preschool-style protagonist named Pibby who must transform into a hardened survivor after a mysterious, glitchy substance known as 'The Darkness' begins consuming various cartoon universes. The meme exploded in popularity due to its unsettling 'corrupted' versions of beloved childhood icons and its clever subversion of nostalgia. In internet culture, the template is frequently used to represent sudden, overwhelming chaos, the literal 'glitching' of reality, or the feeling of watching something wholesome get swallowed by an unstoppable, dark force.