Story

Johnisdead is an ARG set in the universe of Ben Drowned. Spanning across seven different arcs and countless websites, it can be difficult to understand Johnisdead at first. While the Timelines contain the most comprehensive retelling of events, this article aims to explain the story of Johnisdead in a more easily understandable format.

Jadusable's ARG - Ben Drowned

Before diving into the story of Johnisdead, it's important that one first has a basic understanding of Ben Drowned - the ARG created by Alex Hall. Many events and characters from Ben Drowned are referenced and built upon throughout Johnisdead, making it required reading before proceeding. Below is a brief summary of Ben Drowned. This summary contains only the basic information needed to understand Johnisdead. For a more comprehensive understanding of the story, it's recommended that you read through the timelines available on the Jadusable Wiki.

Foreboding Premonitions

The year is 2009. An unsuspecting YouTuber named Jadusable - real name Alex Hall - uploads a video featuring gameplay from Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines containing an interaction with a character named Rosa. Though she is a minor character in the game, Rosa has psychic abilities that allow her to foreshadow upcoming events and even break the fourth wall by addressing the player directly. A few days later, Jadusable uploaded another video to his channel titled Prototype: All Consume Kills (Warning: Extremely Graphic), showing off some special kill animations from the game Prototype.

This YouTube channel was just like any other on the website - completely unassuming among the hundreds of thousands of channels. However, one year later, everything would change.

The Haunted Cartridge

In September of 2010, Alex Hall is attending college. One day, he comes across a yard sale held by a strange Old Man. The Old Man appears to be blind in his right eye and he had strange mannerisms. On display were strange items and amateur inkblot paintings. Alex asked the Old Man if he had any video games for sale. After rummaging around his garage for a few minutes, the Old Man returned with a tattered copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The Old Man gave Alex the copy of Majora's Mask for free. After thanking the man and began walking away, Alex heard him say, "Goodbye, Ben!".

Alex face to face with the Elegy Statue.

When Alex arrived home and began playing the game, he immediately noticed that something was off. The game had a preexisting save file named BEN, which would occasionally get referenced by NPC's in Alex's brand new file. As Alex continued to play the game, it soon became clear that these odd "glitches" were actually sentient hauntings from an entity calling itself BEN. Wherever Alex went in the game, the Elegy Statue would follow. References are made of an authoritative figure known as The Father and the phrase "You shouldn't have done that" are repeated ad nauseam. The number 423 is implied to hold some significance as well.

As time went on, the hauntings worsened. Alex began having nightmares involving strange cults, masks, and BEN. One day, Alex decided to revisit the Old Man with his friend Tyler. However, all they found was an empty house. Back in his college dorm, Alex slowly began going insane. BEN had now manifested on his computer, having traveled through Alex's recording equipment via wires and circuitry. BEN and Alex began speaking through Cleverbot. Through these chats, BEN revealed that he was a truly malicious spirit - torturing Alex for pure thrill and pleasure. Alex discovered that Ben, the original child who owned the Majora's Mask cartridge, had drowned. However, Alex also believes that the malicious spirit known as BEN might not even be related to Ben at all, and instead it's just a preexisting entity that stole his name.

On September 15th, 2010, Alex's roommate upload a collection of notes written by Alex over the past few weeks. These notes were titled "TheTruth.rtf". As players read through these notes, they began noticing strange oddities. Hidden messages spelling out "LIE", the fact that these notes were supposed to be a txt file instead of a rtf file, and the theory that Alex may have not had a roommate at all called the authenticity of these notes into question. Many believed that BEN may have tampered with "TheTruth.rtf" while inside Alex's computer. These fears were confirmed when players reached the end of the document, revealing this message from BEN:

BEN

"Lastly, thank you for taking the time to open this and open yourselves up to me by hearing my story, despite maybe not beliEving me. You didn't have to do that - really, you shouldn't have. Your support this entire time has kept me going and now I am finally free of this."

By downloading the file en masse, the players had inadvertently spread BEN all across the internet. He was now free to spread his hauntings to every corner of the world.

The Moon Children

The front page of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net.

Following the upload of "TheTruth.rtf", the Jadusable YouTube channel began behaving oddly as strange, garbled messages began appearing. Players soon realized that these messages were actually ciphers - coded text that hide secret messages. One of these ciphers led players to a strange website, Youshouldnthavedonethat.net - the home of a moon worshiping cult known as the Moon Children. The Moon Children believed in a moon goddess named Luna, and were led by a figure known as The Father. Other strange entities appeared on the site as well - a mysterious authoritative figure called Mr. D, an entity wearing a gas mask named Drowned, and a deceased Moon Child who was electrocuted named Kelbris.

It's believed that Kelbris's death was not an accident, but instead a part of a Moon Child ritual called Ascension. Essentially, ascension is a ritual suicide that is meant to result in the victim spiritually transcending and presumably gaining immense power. Players began learning more about ascension and the cult's history through the various moderators on the site - Matt Hubris, who also went "Ifrit" and "Rodney R.", Chris, who also went by "Nekko", Spencer L., who also went by "Duskworld23", and Kevin F., who also went by "Insidiae". By searching around the site, players discovered Matt's email address, allowing them to speak directly.

Chris

"Unfortunately I'm not going to be a mod for much longer - my Ascencion date is coming up really soon :) :) He finally told me when it was going to be and it's..... TOMORROW!! haah it's all I can really think about now, my family can't understand why im so excited haha :D"

Kelbris's grotesque form on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net.

Matt revealed that Ben was a former member of the Moon Children, implying that he was drowned during an ascension. This would mean that ascension results in the souls of the ascended becoming trapped within electronic devices such as computers and video games. Matt also explains that a valuable member of the Moon Children named Alex has recently gone missing, referring to him as their "greatest warrior". Whether or not this person is Jadusable or a completely different Alex is unknown.

After digging through Youshouldnthavedonethat.net further, players discovered two things - a locked page called "The Truth", and an ominous countdown. As this countdown neared its end, Matt began hearing someone banging on his door. Just as the timer was about to hit zero, something happened. A YouTube channel by the name "TheLinkMissing" uploaded gameplay footage of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" featuring Link playing the "Song of Time". By submitting the "Song of Time", TheLinkMissing, who was later confirmed to be the missing Moon Child Alex, managed to turn back time to three days prior. This revealed that submitting songs from the Legend of Zelda series through YouTube videos would result in various effects. The effects of these songs would mirror that of their Majora's Mask counterparts - playing the Song of Storms would cause it to rain, whereas playing the Song of Time would reset the cycle. These songs would also mainly effect the players' Link - a character within the story who is currently considered the players' collective avatar or protagonist. At this point, Alex was the players' Link.

Since time we set back three days, Youshouldnthavedonethat.net was also reset. The same posts as before began appearing as the same events began playing out. However, there was one major difference - Matt was missing. The players were unable to save Matt from whatever entity was knocking on his door, and the Song of Time was unable to bring him back. A post from Kelbris later appeared on the front page, reading as follows:

Kelbris

"I AM KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR NEXT. LET ME IN. I WANT TO SPEAK."

This implies that it was actually Kelbris who caused Matt to disappear. After this, players attempted to contact Matt once again through his email. However, it wasn't Matt who replied to the players, but instead his sister - Rosa. Rosa shares a name and mannerisms with the character Alex spoke to in the Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines game. Unfortunately, a few miscalculated song submissions on the players part resulted in Rosa going missing as well. Things became more grim as an entity represented by Dark Link in Ocarina of Time began hunting down Alex, presumably killing him. The player submitted the Song of Time before the second cycle came to a close, resetting the clock once again.

Youshouldnthavedonethat.net then experienced an update known as "The Glitch", resulting in cryptic text reading "You are waking up now" and "Pulling the plug" appearing. Players also began discovering hidden files on the site. One of these files was from Matt, warning the players about how manipulative BEN is.

Ryukaki and Hubris

The Within Hubris forums.

At the end of Matt's message was text that read "KAYD HENDRICKS YOU ARE IN DANGER.". After a bit of digging, players discovered that Kayd Hendricks was the name of a player who was exclusively given the login information for "The Truth" page by Rosa. Kayd began uploading videos to his YouTube channel Ryukaki where he detailed strange experiences at his new home. Over time, it's revealed that Kayd is actually living in Ben's former home. The Moon Children's base of operations was also revealed - a location known as "The Orchard". Kayd began receiving strange phone calls and was chased by a pack of dogs. It appeared he was experiencing hauntings similar to Alex's. In a final upload, Kayd gave the players the login information to access "The Truth". Unfortunately, the password given was incomplete, and the players were unable to uncover Youshouldnthavedonethat.net's final secret.

Not long after this, a new website was discovered - a message board called "Within Hubris". These forums had accounts for nearly every canon character, including obscure ones like Tyler. Players also discovered a secret board on Within Hubris titled Wayward Horizon. Inside, it appeared that Kelbris was guarding the souls of various ascended Moon Children, including Spencer and Chris. However, shortly after players accessed Wayward Horizon, they were locked out by Kelbris.

Two years later in 2012, the Within Hubris forums were shut down. Although a few dedicated players managed to reconstructed them, all was quiet. That is, until the year 2015...

Arc 1 - YSHDT Arc

The YSHDT Arc is the first arc of Johnisdead, beginning on January 22nd of 2015.

Dawn of a New Day

On January 22nd, 2015, four years after the original Ben Drowned ARG was placed on hiatus, a new user named thelaw joined the reconstructed Within Hubris forums. Thelaw shared a strange website he discovered with the players - YSHDT.com. This site contained an image of BEN and its name, "YSHDT", was an acronym for "You shouldn't have done that". A few days later, the players banded together and formed a new Skype group called the Internet Detectives. Together, the Internet Detectives dove deeper into YSHDT.com and uncovered writings from someone named Douglas P - a high school student who had joined a cult in the past and is now regretting his decision.

A hidden image on YSHDT.com featuring BEN.

The players were eventually led to a blog owned by Doug himself named Letschasethemouse. Players began chatting with Doug through the comment section on his blog. Doug reveals that he had just recently been invited to join a "religious group" by his friend. Players quickly realize that Doug is actually speaking to them from the past - the year 2009, to be exact. This means that there's still a chance for the players to save Doug. Their attempts to convince Doug to leave the cult are fruitless. Doug already considers the cult to be his "true family", and believes they are his real friends. One player, Jacob, manages to convince Doug to let him join the cult. Doug then refers Jacob to his friend Mason - a fellow cultist who handles new recruits. Over the next few weeks, Jacob is asked to record himself carrying out odd tasks in order to fully accepted into the cult.

At this point, not much is known about Doug's cult. While most players were assuming it was simply the return of the Moon Children, some things didn't match up. For example, instead of being based at an orchard, this new cult was housed in an old fishery. It was still too early to tell the exact nature of this cult.

New Friends and New Foes

Back on the Within Hubris forums, a new character begins speaking with the players - /Patrem\. Patrem spoke to the players in an authoritative manner with an air of superiority. It was soon revealed that Patrem is actually "The Father" of Doug's cult. Players also discovered that Patrem was no longer human - he was now a timeless entity that had become trapped within the body of another cultist named Vincent. However, Vincent himself was completely unaware of Patrem's existence, seemingly having no recollection of the cult's existence, since the only time Patrem took full control of Vincent was when he fell asleep. Patrem spoke a few cryptic phrases before departing - "Three of you are not as you seem", and " o n urn d. Now he has ascended".

/Patrem\

"I came to the fishery, and the fools trapped me inside him. Vincent, return to your slumber now. There is no home for you brats."

The cult's base of operations - an old fishery in the Floridan woodlands.

The players soon met another mysterious entity - user named Drown who entered Internet Detectives Skype group. Players immediately drew connections between Ben and Drown because of their names, but the two acted nothing alike. Drown was asking the players for help and cowering before Patrem - completely different from the malicious entity known as BEN. A third entity later joined Within Hubris and began chatting with the players - Helper. Helper began assisting the players by delivering mail to them. His uncanny delivery abilities seem to be powered by his hat, which is the Postman's Hat from Majora's Mask - though it is more commonly referred to as Helper's Hat by the players. Through Helper's abilities, the players accidentally stole Doug's mail. Shortly after this, Doug made a post on his blog where he mentioned that an important religious package was meant to come in the mail.

Doug began displaying more worrying signs over time, scribbling prophecies from Kelbris in his school notes and posting cryptic messages about Time Aggregation. On February 20th, 2015, Doug began heading towards the Fishery, despite the players' warnings. Following this, Doug made one final post on his blog - an update that simply read "Help".

Mason, Our New Link

After Doug went missing, a new author began posting updates on Letschasethemouse - Mason, Doug's friend who handled new recruits for the cult. Mason, concerned for his friend's well-being, had become suspicious of the cult. He began working alongside the players to discover what exactly happened to Doug. Unsure of how to proceed, Mason decided to just go directly to the fishery and ask about Doug. Seeing that this was a bad idea, the players summoned Helper and asked him to go to the fishery and help Doug. Helper began jogging towards the fishery.

Helper

Helper: "Do you have need of assistance, adventurer?"
Player: "We need to help Douglas, how can we?"
Helper: "I'm not particularly sure. Has he lost his mail?"

Helper's Hat surrounded by blood.

Meanwhile, Mason had reached the fishery's outer perimeter. In at attempt to distract some guards, Mason blindly hurled a rock in their direction. Unfortunately, this rock ended up hitting Helper instead, instantly killing him. Mason managed to retrieve Helper's magical hat before being chased away from the fishery. On his way back home, Mason came across a strange figure known as The Gray Man.

The Gray Man did not seem malicious. Instead, he simply wanted Helper's Hat. In exchange, he gave Mason a playing card - an Eight of Clubs. Not long after this, it was revealed that Helper's Hat not only gives Helper the ability to deliver mail on time, but also grants access to Helper's Within Hubris account and a strange YouTube channel simply titled M. Since Mason was in possession of Helper's Hat for a brief time, videos of him running home at night and coming across The Gray Man can be viewed:

The radio tower seen in the video "N".

Now that The Gray Man had Helper's Hat, videos of what he was up to began appearing instead. It seemed as though The Gray Man was travelling to a radio tower near some woods for some unknown reason:

Back on Within Hubris, The Gray Man began chiding the players for incessant group in-fighting and drama, saying that the players must be united. Not long after this, Helper began chatting with the players. Though his body may be physically "dead", Helper is still able to communicate with us, implying that he is a rather special entity. Helper asks the players recover his hat, meaning they'll have to somehow get it back from The Gray Man. Later on, one player asked Patrem for a bedtime story. To everyone's surprise, Patrem obliged, reciting the following:

Patrem's Bedtime Story

"Yes child, sleep is a very important thing for your kind. So I shall tell you the tail of another who also has trouble sleeping. There once was a child who was quite curious, he was surrounded by children and yet, it was not enough for him. So he sought the company of others. Through trials and tribulations he found sanctuary in their communion, however he lost sight of the other children, his own name and even his self. But his new family loved him very much, so his father decided to give him a name. Vincent, and before he knew it he was a very responsible man. He was to oversee all of the children in his father’s home when his father was away. However one night, father saw that one of his children had become quite grand. This child was to come and see his father so that he might be told the secrets that only father may know. But two terrible children, who must not be spoken of, one flying, one simply screaming, had come and interfered. Luckily the grand child had still done what was needed on that night, but their father was displaced. He was hurt, that children would fuss in such a time of glory. But Vincent was a good boy, he gave his father refuge. But the event was much to bare, and Vincent had forgotten once again who his family truly was. This all kept Vincent awake, always awake, and his father can do no work, if Vincent is always awake and crying as though he is still simply another child. Now you must rest, for sleep is a very important thing for your kind. I may be able to go on without such a time wasting practice, but neither you nor Vincent can"

This story reveals that Vincent became a prolific member of Patrem's cult. However, two unknown entities interrupted a special ceremony that involved a "Grand Child". This somehow damaged Patrem, forcing him into Vincent's body. This resulted in Vincent losing his memory, which is why he no longer remembers anything about the cult.

Rosa standing in the rain.

Back on Doug's blog, Mason informs the players that he's going back to the fishery. He believes that the cultists there didn't realize he was the one who was snooping around previously, and that maybe if he asks nicely, they'll let him see Doug. Seeing this as a bad idea, the players submit the New Wave Bossa Nova. This summons Rosa, who Mason runs into on his way to the fishery. Rosa begins giving Mason some predictions meant for the players. She claims that the players' "most powerful weapon" has been taken, and that they need to reclaim it. Rosa also warns that the players' most trusted allies may deceives them and become enemies. After this, Rosa departs.

Mason makes his way to the fishery. Moments later, he makes a distressed post on Letschasethemouse, claiming that Doug is somehow different now.

Mason

“SOMETHINGS WRONG. VERY VERY FUCKING WRONG. THEY LET ME SEE DOUG. DOUG ISNT DOUG. WHAT THE FUCK”

Shortly after this, Doug took back over Letschasethemouse, acting as if nothing is wrong. Doug claimed that Mason is simply lying to the players.

Doug

"Hello, guys. It’s been a while. Mason’s off running with his tail between his legs. I need your help. He’s going to try to convince you I am the bad guy. I’m not. I’m just trying to escape. And I need your help. Mason is kinda getting in the way of it. He’s luring you guys away from me with his lies and wit. I didn’t even know he was capable of this. Everything is fine with me, they are keeping me captive and questioning me about you guys, but they haven’t done anything else. It’s been kind of harsh, but I guess they would be that way, huh? I’ve been told of your powers, and it makes sense, considering all the crazy stuff that’s happened to me while I was in contact with you guys. I need you to send Mason far away, and I need you guys to help me again. I’m sure you will have time to plan things out."

Doug vs. Mason

Fanart of the "Doug vs. Mason" saga.

Players were given a choice. They had to choose between Doug or Mason to be their Link. Believing that their song powers would have more control over Doug if they chose him, Doug was selected as the players' new Link. Not long after this, a message from Doug was discovered on YSHDT.com declaring Mason his enemy.

Back on the Within Hubris forums, Patrem began answering some questions for the players. When asked about Rosa, Patrem calls her a "blind whore", claiming that she and Matt started off on the "wrong path" and never attempted to correct themselves. It seems Patrem resents Matt and Rosa for some unknown reason. When asked what to expect in the future, Patrem replied with the following:

Patrem's Prediction

"There will be a coming time in which a portal shall be opened. This place was forged by the one they call saint, and is governed by the one I call grand. Named a petty insult directed at the terrible fate of one child and the loss of another. Through here you may encounter many things both of your kind, and from times before man. He will seek the burned one, without his puppet he is only half of his potential. He will seek the link of that time, for it is through his death that he believes he will truly become a god. He is a grand fool, but he is one of my special children. However, this is not of the task at hand. Worry now for what lies before you. Now I must go, a ceremony shall soon be at hand, blood must be spilled when mother calls for it. My children eagerly await in the holy building."

Patrem claims that a portal will soon open created by someone called Saint and controlled by the previously mentioned Grand Child. The Grand Child will seek someone referred to as the Burned One to gain more power and attempt to kill the players' link to become a god. Patrem then says that a sacrifice will soon take place. Fearing that Mason's life may be in danger, the players submitted a combination of several songs and masks. It wasn't until several days later they received a response. Helper informed the players that Mason had somehow become trapped within a storm drain. Sure enough, the front page of YSHDT.com had changed, now featuring a photo of a storm drain with a strange device sitting next to it.

Helper

"Mason is stuck inside a storm drain. It seems like an odd place to hang around. Or… drown in."

Doug's insane rage upon discovering the bomb plans.

Among the odd images discovered on YSHDT.com were some schematics for some sort of Time Bomb. One player, ARGdov, sent this image to Doug on Letschasethemouse. Upon seeing this, Doug went insane, asking "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT" repeatedly and informing the players that their Link had been severed. The players had now lost contact with their Link, Doug, who had become outwardly malicious towards them. With nowhere else to turn, players began searching through YSHDT.com once again.

YSHDT.com underwent several other changes. Players discovered images of radio towers and messages such as "device incoming". This seemed to imply that someone would soon be contacting the players. Sure enough, a few days later, the players were contacted over Skype by Mason. However, this Mason was different, somehow. This Mason spoke as if he were a struggling DOS machine. This Mason was also speaking to the players from the current year - 2015. Mason claimed to have survived being trapped in a storm drain. He began asking the players for the bomb plans. Fearing that Mason might be attempting to blow himself up in a suicide attack against Doug, the players refused to do so - accidentally ending all contact with him in the process.

With no Link to guide, no characters to speak to, and no way to progress, the first arc of Johnisdead came to a close. The GM, which the players had simply referred to as The Man at that point, revealed himself to be a regular member of the Within Hubris community - Dawn of a New Day. Dawn spoke with the players, explaining that everything so far was simply the first arc in a much bigger ARG ran by a different set of GMs.

Dawn of a New Day

"My ARG was actually just an introduction to a bigger one. Another group has been crafting a story for you all. And hopefully a bigger group than this."

The player still had a chance to redeem themselves. The real story was just beginning.

Arc 2 - Dead Arc