Story (Full) 1
Johnisdead shares many elements with Ben Drowned - an ARG created by Alex Hall in 2010. The first few sections of this story recap will be dedicated to covering the story of Ben Drowned so that readers will have full context required for Johnisdead.
((Header Image))
Alex - a sophomore in college.
On September 7th, 2010, a young man named Alex made a post on /x//x/ is the name of an image board on 4chan. Here, users often discuss supernatural and paranormal subject matters. that detailed his strange experiences over the past few days. Alex was a sophomore in college who had just recently moved into his dorm room. His only form of entertainment was a Nintendo 64The Nintendo 64 is a cartridge-based videogame system created by Nintendo in 1996. and a copy of Super Smash Bros.Super Smash Bros. is a party/fighting game created by Nintendo. It features various characters from other Nintendo videogames. given to him by his friend. Alex had quickly become bored with the game. That weekend, he decided to drive around searching for more via local yard sales. Alex was successful, finding several classic games. However, just as he was about to head home, Alex was drawn to a humble yard sale being hosted by a strange Old Man.
Alex
"One last house caught my attention. I still have no idea why it did, there were no cars there and only one table was set up with random junk on it, but something sort of drew me there. I usually trust my gut on these things."
The Old Man was strange. He seemed to be blind in his right eye and he was selling an assortment of strange inkblot paintings. Alex asked the man if he had any videogames for sale, expecting him to not even know what one was. To his surprised, the Old Man shuffled back into his home to retrieve one. When he returned, he handed Alex an old copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's MaskThe Legend of Zelda is a videogame series created by Nintendo. Majora's Mask released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64. It is often considered the black sheep of the series due to its strange tone and atmosphere.. The Old Man gave Alex the game for free. As Alex turned to leave, the Old Man said "Goodbye, Ben!".
An example of one of the Old Man's paintings.
The old Majora's Mask cartridge.
The Happy Mask Salesman from Majora's Mask.
Alex returned to his dorm room and booted up the game. Here, he discovered that it already contained a save file simply named "BEN". Saddened, he believed that perhaps the senile Old Man once had a grandson named Ben and was reminded of him by Alex. Ben had made it fairly far into the game, having just reached the final level - the Stone Tower Temple. Out of respect, Alex allowed the "BEN" save file to remain and instead created his own named "Link"Link" is the name of the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series.".
As Alex played the game, he noticed several oddities. Textures would occasionally appear where they shouldn't. Random snippets of cutscenes would flash on screen. Strangest of all, characters would sometimes refer to Link as "BEN". Unnerved, Alex decided to delete the "BEN" save file, hoping this would solve the issue. It didn't. Instead, characters would now simply refer to Link with blank spaces. Frustrated, Alex stopped playing for the night.
The next day, Alex continued playing the game. He managed to reach the game's second level before deciding to pull off the Fourth Day Glitch - an infamous glitch that breaks the game. The plot of Majora's Mask is that Link has been thrust into a parallel world named Termina. Here, he must defeat Skull Kid - a forest imp that's been possessed by an evil object known as Majora's Mask.
Link only has three days to complete his quest - Majora's Mask has cursed the moon, causing it to slowly descend upon Termina. Thankfully, Link can rewind time to three days prior using the Ocarina of Time - a magical instrument. To defeat the Skull Kid, Link must travel to four different locations in Termina and awaken The Four Giants, stopping the moon's descent. By pulling off the Fourth Day Glitch, the players can enter into a corrupted in-game fourth day that should not exist.
Alex successfully pulled off the Fourth Day Glitch, leading to some unexpected results. Link was suddenly warped to the final boss area. However, instead of facing the game's final boss, Alex was met with the Skull Kid, who silently watched him. As Alex was about to reset the game, a message appeared that read "You're not sure why, but you apparently had a reservation...". Alex was then asked "Go to the lair of the temple's boss?". Unable to answer no, Alex selected "Yes". He was then shown the "Dawn of a New Day" screen. It appeared corrupted, however - the text below it simply reading "||||||||". Link was warped to Clock Town - the game's main town. However, all of its inhabitants were missing and the usual cheery music was replaced with a creepy reversed version of the Song of HealingThe "Song of Healing" is one of the magical songs that Link can play on his Ocarina. Taught to him by the enigmatic "Happy Mask Salesman", the song is believed to heal the souls of restless spirits and bring them peace. dubbed the "Song of Unhealing". Alex could also occasionally hear the Happy Mask SalesmanThe Happy Mask Salesman is an enigmatic character from Majora's Mask. He's believed to hold some strange powers as he's seen teleporting on-screen and is capable of teaching Link the "Song of Healing". He is the one who owned Majora's Mask before it was stolen by the Skull Kid and he is the one who sets Link off on his quest to retrieve it at the beginning of the game. laughing in the distance.
Alex
"The only way I can describe the way I felt here is having this feeling of inexplicable depression on a profound scale. I am normally not a depressed person, but the way I felt here was a feeling that I didn't even knew existed - it was such a twisted, powerful presence that seemed to wash over me."
Unable to escape Clock Town, Alex eventually decided to have Link drown. However, before he could hop into the water, the Happy Mask Salesman appeared on screen alongside an ear-piercing scream from the Skull Kid. When the gameplay returned to normal, Link was now being chased by the Elegy Statue - an uncanny effigy of Link that's typically summoned by playing the "Elegy of Emptiness" on the Ocarina. However, this version of the Elegy Statue was malicious. Sentient. It continuously appeared behind Link - almost as if it were chasing him. Link would occasionally glitch into strange, impossible animations as the Happy Mask Salesman continued to flash on screen. It was around this point that Alex began recording his gameplay footage:
Description
((This video's description simply contained Alex's /x/ post. A transcript of this post will be provided further down on the page.))
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video begins where Alex's description left off - Link is running through a deserted Clock Town while being chased by the Elegy Statue.
- Alex attempts to hide in the Swordsman's School. Here, the Happy Mask Salesman flashes on screen as both Link and the Elegy Statue stare at the camera, breaking the fourth wall.
- Link is chased by the Elegy Statue some more before the same corrupted "Dawn of a New Day" screen from before appears.
- Link is warped to the fight with Skull Kid atop the Clock Tower. Here, he is killed multiple times. The same battle resets each time.
- Alex is told "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" as he's taken back to the game's title screen.
- Alex discovers that his save file has been deleted. Instead, where the "BEN" file once was, there's a new file named "YOURTURN".
- Accessing the "YOURTURN" save file takes Alex to the same battle as before, only Link is now dead as the Skull Kid laughs.
- Upon resetting the game, Alex discovers that the "BEN" save file has returned.
After this harrowing experience, Alex put the game down. He attempted to get some sleep, but was unable. This catches us back up to September 7th, 2010. Alex decided to try and get some answers out of the Old Man. He and a friend returned to the Old Man's house - only to find it abandoned and up for sale. Upon returning to his dorm room, Alex wrote about his experiences on /x/ and posted the video above. Click "Expand" below to read a full archive of Alex's /x/ post.
Alex's First /x/ Post
Okay, /x/, I need your help with this. This is not copypasta, this is a long read, but I feel like my safety or well-being could very well depend on this. This is videogame related, specifically Majora's Mask, and this is the creepiest shit that has ever happened to me in my entire life.
He flashed a crooked smiled at me and asked what I was looking for, and immediately I noticed that he must be blind in one of his eyes; his right eye had that "glazed over" look about it. I forced myself to look to his left eye instead, trying not to offend, and asked him if he had any old videogames.Meanwhile, players"Players" refers to the audience members following along with the story. The term becomes more fitting later on when the ARG becomes more interactive. noticed that the YouTube channel Alex was using was somewhat odd. The channel itself was named Jadusable - a combination of the biblical figures "Judas" and "Abel". The channel also contained a few older videos that were uploaded a year prior in 2009.
Description
No one has put this up yet so I figured I'd take the liberty and do it. This is what happens when you encounter Rosa in the beginning of Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines in Santa Monica, and shortly after talking to her you end up being drowned in dialogue. What follows is a rather creepy and cryptic conversation about the player and his future. Several of the things she alludes to are kind of vague, though, like the lone wolf, but her sporadic facial expressions coupled with her fourth wall breakage definitely spooked the hell out of me when I first played the game at night stoned.
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video contains gameplay footage of Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines.
- The player talks to a character named Rosa, who gives them their fortune.
- The most important prediction listed by Rosa is the warning "Don't open it".
- The description notes the off-putting nature of how Rosa seemingly breaks the fourth wall.
Description
These are all of the consume kills that are in the game Prototype. Typically there are two consume kills for each "weapon", but the blade arm has three, unarmed has four (five if you count Web of Intrigue consume), and there are six stealth consumes. There are a few repeats in here - some done in slow motion using the power wheel - from different angles, so enjoy I guess?
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video contains gameplay footage of Prototype.
- This video simply contains a montage of the various "Consume Kills" that the player can preform.
September 8th, 2010, Alex made another post on /x/ cataloging his experiences with the game from earlier in the day. He claims that shortly after posting the thread from yesterday, he fell asleep and had a nightmare. He dreamed that the Elegy Statue was following him wherever he went. He also remembers calling the Elegy Statue "Ben". After waking up, Alex decided to once again try to find the Old Man. Unfortunately, the Old Man's home was still abandoned. However, one of his neighbors was willing to answer some of Alex's questions.
The neighbor told Alex that the Old Man was never married - nor did he have any children or grandchildren. Alex asked if he knew who Ben was. The neighbor informed him that Ben died on April 23rd, 2002, about four houses down the road. After this, Ben's parents moved away. Unfortunately, the neighbor was unwilling to divulge any more information.
Alex returned to his dorm room and continued playing Majora's Mask. This time Alex recorded his entire playthrough, which can be viewed here:
Description
Sorry it took me so long guys. I'm back.
I'm going to post what happened and link the video footage, but last night everything got too real for me. I think I'm done messing around with this. I passed out pretty much immediately after making that thread. But last night, that Elegy of Emptiness statue, I had a dream about it. I dreamt that it was following me in my dream, that I would be minding my own business when I'd feel my neck hairs stand up on end. I would turn around that thing... that horrible, lifeless statue would be staring with those empty eyes right at me, merely inches away. In my dream I remember calling it Ben, and never before had I had a dream that I could remember so vividly. But the important thing is I did get some sleep, I suppose.
Today, putting off playing the game as long as I could, I drove back up to that neighborhood to see if the old man came back. As I expected, the car was still gone and no one was home. As I was walking back to my car, the man next door mowing the grass killed the power to his lawnmower and asked me if I was looking for someone. I told him that I was looking to talk to the old man that lived here, to which he told me what I already knew - he was moving. Trying a different avenue, I asked if the old man had any family or relatives I could talk to. I discovered that this old man had never been married, nor did he have any children or grandchildren through adoption. Starting to become worried, I asked one final question, one that I should have asked from the beginning - who was Ben? The man's expression turned grim and I learned that four doors down around eight years ago on April 23rd - the man informed me that it was the same day as his anniversary, that's how he knew the specific date - there was an accident with a young boy named Ben in the neighborhood. Shortly after his parents moved, and despite any further attempts to talk to the man to get more information, he wouldn't divulge anything else.
I went back and started playing again, I loaded up the game and immediately I jumped at the title screen where the mask flies by - the sound that played was not the normal "woosh" sound, it was something much more higher pitched. I pressed start, bracing for the worst, but just like two nights ago, the files "Your Turn" and "BEN" were displayed (truth be told I looked at the BEN file earlier, it seems to fluctuate between displaying the Owl Save and not). I brought up the BEN file, hesitated for a moment noticing that the stats were not the same as they original were two days ago, it seemed like he had already completed the Stone Tower Temple this time... Summoning my courage I selected it.
Immediately I was thrusted into complete chaos. Sure enough, I was outside Stone Tower Temple, but that's about all that was expected. The zone itself wasn't called Stone Tower Temple, but rather "St o n e", and immediately a dialogue box of complete gibberish that I couldn't make out greeted me. Link's body was distorted - his back was cocked violently to the side where his posture was permanently disfigured. Link's expression was dull, almost monotonous, he had an expression on his face that I didn't recognize before, it was a blank look - as if he was dead. As Link stood there his body spasmed irregularly back and forth I examined what had become of my avatar and noticed I had a C button item I had never seen before, some kind of note, but pressing it did nothing. Sounds played back and forth that I didn't recognize from the game - almost demonic in nature, and there was some kind of high-pitched yip or some kind of laugh or something playing in the background. I had all of two minutes to take in the environment before another one of those fucking Elegy of Emptiness statues was summoned and immediately after I was cut into the "Dawn of a New Day" screen, except this time it was without the "||||||" subtext.
I was a Deku Scrub in Clock Town - this scene would normally play after the first time you traveled back in time. Tatl would say "Wh-What just happened? It's as if everything has..." but instead of saying "Started over", she finished her remark in broken text as the laugh of the Happy Mask Salesman played in the background. I was put back in control of my character, but from a fucked up camera angle - I was looking from behind the door to the Clock Tower, watching my avatar run around as a Deku Scrub. Seeing as how I really had no place to go because I couldn't see anything, I begrudgingly went inside the door. There, I was greeted by the Happy Mask Salesman who simply told me "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" before the screen whited out.
I was in Termina field as a human again. I might as well not have been playing the same game anymore - I was being warped around and there was no sign of a day clock or anything. I took a moment to get my bearings as I looked around the field and immediately I could tell that this was not normal. There were no enemies and a twisted version of the Happy Mask Salesman's theme was playing. I decided to run towards Woodfall before I noticed a gathering of three figures off to the side - one of them being Epona. As I approached them, to my horror I saw the Happy Mask Salesman, the Skull Kid, and the Elegy of Emptiness statue just standing there. I figured maybe they were bugged out, but by now I told myself that I should know better. Nevertheless, I approached them carefully and found that the Skull Kid was playing some kind of idle animation on loop, same with Epona, and the Elegy of Emptiness statue was doing what it has been doing all along - just standing there eerily. It was the Happy Mask Salesman that scared me more profoundly than the other two.
He too was idle, wearing that shit-eating grin, but where-ever I moved, his head slowly turned and followed me. I had not engaged in any dialogue with him nor was I in combat with him, yet his head still continued to follow my movements. Reminded of my first encounter with the Skull Kid on top of Clock Tower, I pulled out my Ocarina (to which the game played the ding sound when you're supposed to play your Ocarina) and tried a song I hadn't played yet - the Happy Mask Salesmans' own song and the song that had been playing on loop back in Day 4 - the Song of Healing.
I finished playing the song and as I did, a ear-piercing shriek blasted on my TV, the sky immediately started flashing, the Happy Mask Salesmans' twisted theme song sped up, intensifying the fear inside me, and Link exploded into flames and died. The three figures stayed lit up during my death screen as they watched my lifeless body burn. I can't describe to you how sudden and terrifying the transition from eerie to terror it is, you're going to have to watch the video if you want to see first-hand. That same fear that caused me to lose sleep two days ago started to grip me again as I was met with the text "You've met with a horrible fate, haven't you?" for the third time. There has to be some kind of meaning behind that.
I had little time to ponder as I was immediately given another small cutscene of transforming into a Zora and now I found myself in Great Temple Bay. Hesitant but curious to see what the game had in store for me, I slowly made my way towards the beach, where I found Epona. I wondered why the game had decided to put her here, was the game implying she was trying to get a drink? Unable to take the mask off, I decided that riding the steed wasn't the reason she was placed there.
Suddenly I realized that Epona kept neighing and the way she was angled made it look like she was trying to signal a point to me off in the distance. It was a hunch, but I dove into Great Bay and started swimming. Sure enough - I almost missed it - I found something at the bottom of the ocean; one last Elegy of Emptiness statue. I went down to examine it and suddenly my Zora started doing a choking animation I had never seen a Zora do before - which didn't even make sense because Zora's can breath underwater. Regardless, my character choked to death and died, and again the statue was the only thing that was highlighted in my death. I didn't respawn this time, I was booted back to the main menu as if I restarted the console.
The "press start" screen was before me, I knew the only reason why it would put me here is because the save files had changed again. Taking a deep breath, I pressed start, and I was right. The new save files told me about Ben. Now it made sense why the statue appeared when I tried to go to the Laundry Pool - the game must have anticipated how I would have tried to escape the Day 4 Clock Town. The two save files told me his fate. As I suspected, Ben was dead. He had drowned. The game obviously isn't through with me - it taunts me with the new save files - it wants me to keep playing, it wants me to go further, but I'm done with this shit. I'm not touching any more of the files. This is already way too horrifying for me and I don't even believe in the paranormal, but I'm running out of explanations. Why would someone send me this message? I don't understand it, I just get too depressed thinking about this, the footage is up here for those who want to see it and try and analyze it (maybe there's some kind of coded message in the gibberish or something symbolic in what I went through - I'm too emotionally and mentally drained to fuck with it anymore).
I'm trying to get ahold of a camera so I can take a picture of the cartridge, but I have a feeling that once I do that then those same people will not be content with having an unexplainable event and want me to jump through more hoops for proof - I promise you that I will, but just for the rest of the day I just want to distance myself from this thing and recooperate. I will answer all of your questions and give you all of the pictures I can tomorrow. Some of you guys may give me shit for this, but you can't imagine how taxing this is for me emotionally - its one thing to see this footage and read what I have to say, its another entirely when you're playing this by yourself and its like the game is actually trying to reach out to you personally.
Having said that, here is the link, maybe there is more to analyze here, hopefully we can figure this out without the need for additional playthroughs, I really don't think I can keep subjecting myself to this guys.
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video features Alex's playthrough of the Majora's Mask Cartridge.
- Alex proceeds to play the "BEN" file.
- Link's body is heavily contorted. An Elegy Statue appears that warps him back to Clock Town. The scene that normally plays after resetting the three-day-cycle for the first time begins.
- Link enters the Clock Tower and meets the Happy Mask Salesman who tells him "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?".
- Link is warped to Termina Field where he finds the Happy Mask Salesman, the Elegy Statue, Skull Kid, and Epona.
- Alex plays the "Song of Healing", resulting in Link dying.
- Link is warped to the Great Bay where he finds Epona pointing towards an Elegy Statue on the ocean floor, which drowns Link.
- A new save file appears on the file select screen below the "BEN" file. This one is named "DROWNED" - implying that Ben died via drowning.
After this, Alex began writing his second /x/ post and uploaded the video above. He claimed that this had all been incredibly taxing on him mentally and that he didn't want to play the game ever again. Regardless, readers on /x/ continued giving Alex suggestions. Many recommended that he play the Elegy of EmptinessThe Elegy of Emptiness is a song from Majora's Mask that summons the Elegy Statue. the next time he's given a chance.
On September 10th, 2010, Alex made another post on /x/. Something had driven him to play the game yet again the day prior, which he once again recorded:
Description
I don't have a long string of paragraphs for this one. I know its early in the morning, I've stayed up all night, I can't sleep, I don't care if people see this, that's not the point, I just want the word to get spread so I don't suffer for nothing. I've lost the will to type about this, the less I dwell on this the better, I think the video just speaks for itself. I did what you guys told me to do, I played the Elegy of Emptiness song at the first prompt by the game I was given, but I think that's what the game or Ben (jesus christ I can't believe I'm even humoring the absurd idea that he exists in the game) wanted me to do. He's following me now, not just in the game, he's in my dreams. I see him all the time, behind my back, just watching me. I haven't gone to any of my classes, I've stayed in my dorm room with the windows closed and the blinds shut - that way I know he can't watch me. But he still gets me when I play, when I play he can still see me. The game is scaring me now. It talked to me for the first time - not just using text that's already in the game - it spoke to me. Talked to me. It referenced Ben. It talked to me. I don't know what it means. I don't know what it wants. I never wanted this, I just want my old life back.
Stuff like this doesn't happen to people like me, I'm just a kid, not even old enough to drink yet. It's not fair, I want to go home, I want to see my parents again, I'm so far away from home here at this school, I just want to hug my mom again. I just want to forget that statue's horrible blank face. My original game file is back - just the way I left it before it was gone. I don't want to play anymore. I feel like something bad will happen if I don't, but that's impossible, it's a videogame - haunted or not it can't hurt me, right? Like seriously though, it can't, right? That's what I keep telling myself, but every time I think about it I'm not so sure.
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video features Alex's playthrough of the Majora's Mask Cartridge.
- Alex proceeds to play the "DROWNED" file.
- The game's prologue begins playing - albeit in a corrupted manner. The scene plays where Link is transformed into a Deku. However, in this corrupted version, he remains humanoid.
- The game prompts Alex to play a song on the Ocarina. He plays the "Elegy of Emptiness", resulting in him being told "You shouldn't have done that...".
- The game briefly transforms into its predecessor - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Here, all of the dialogue is replaced with "You shouldn't have done that...".
- Alex is told that he'll be given one final chance and that BEN is getting lonely.
- Alex's original "Link" save file has returned.
Alex is now far more paranoid, having locked himself in his dorm room and covering up his windows so that he can't be watched. He claims that BEN somehow spoke to him outside of the game, though he doesn't elaborate on how exactly. Alex posts the video above along with his thread on /x/, questioning whether or not a videogame could actually hurt him in real life.
On September 12th, 2010, another post appeared on /x/ - however, this was supposedly written by Alex's roommate. The roommate says that Alex had been in bad shape the past few days. He cut off contact with his friends, family, and hadn't been eating. By the second day, the roommate had become unnerved and began hanging out at a friend's place. Yesterday, the roommate encountered Alex, who gave them a flash drive containing more gameplay footage of Majora's Mask, his YouTube login information, some notes titled TheTruth.txt, and a set of instructions for uploading it all.
The roommate says that, earlier in the day, Alex's parents arrived and picked him up - though the whole process was so fast that the roommate didn't even see them. Alex supposedly planned on taking the rest of the semester off while he recovered at home with his parents. The roommate has been instructed to upload Alex's footage tonight. He's also been told to upload "TheTruth.txt" on September 15th.
Strangely, Alex's roommate claims the removed part of Alex's footage - mainly clips involving the file select screen. However, he claims that the files remained the same as they did at the end of the previous video - "Link" and "BEN". He then linked to Alex's footage:
Description
let me just clear things up - i know you guys are worried but "jadusable" is okay. he finished moving out today and he said he's going back home, he's just taking this semester off. i'm not really sure what's happened , i have a vague idea but you guys probably know more than i do. i'm "jadusable's" roommate and obviously i knew something was wrong with him for a few days now. he stayed in his room all the time, fell out of contact with literally all of his friends, and i'm pretty sure he hadn't been eating hardly anything, after the second day i couldn't stay in there anymore, so i've been crashing at a buddy's place, only coming in to my room to get stuff that i need. i tried talking to him several times but he would cut me off or keep the conversation brief when i asked him about his strange behavior, it like he was convinced something was hunting him. yesterday i came to grab my philosophy book and he approached me, looking awful, like horrible bags under his eyes. he handed me a flash drive and gave me specific instructions. he told me that he needs me to do one last favor for him - he finally explained to me what has been going on, gave me the account info to his youtube account, and he gave me instructions on how to post with his name code on specifically this board, apparently he said you guys had been helping him along the way and you deserved to see the end of it.
He told me that he's getting away from here, that it lured him to play it again instead of trying to change things and that he shouldn't of done that, and to upload the footage and inform people what happened. i told him that he could do it himself and he got this wild look in his eye and told me that he is never looking at that game again, and that's the last thing he said to me, he never even said bye when his parents came to pick him up. i was hoping I'd at least get a chance to meet his parents when they picked him up, but they were in and out so quick I never saw them.
i honestly cant tell you what happened, when he spoke it was kind of hard to understand him and his fucked up appearance really distracted me. on the flash drive there was the footage of the game last night, a text document with his name and password for youtube, and a third document called TheTruth.txt containing what he told me were "his notes" that he'd taken. he told me that this meant everything to him that i follow his instructions exactly, normally i wouldn't be so 'to-the-letter' for request over a fucking videogame, but the way he spoke and the way he looked made me know this was really serious.
and i'm going to honor that. i've had this video since yesterday, but had to have someone help me use pinnacle, that's not really my forte. that after watching it i had to go back through and look at his other videos on his youtube account to realize what was going on and even then i'm really really confused. the video I'm releasing tonight, TheTruth.txt will be released on september 15th just like he requested. i don't know why he wants to wait for his notes to be published but after what that he's been through, i'll honor that request. i haven't dared peek at it yet, so the first time i see it will be the first time you see it out of respect to my friend. to answer your questions, no, i havent tried calling him yet, i think i'll give him a call tomorrow to see if hes okay or not. he should have gotten back home by now.
about the video: in this video i cut straight to when he loaded the "BEN" file in the game, looking back i realized that jadusable left the save select screen in because it said different names sometimes, so my bad for that, but all it said this time was the same at the end of his last video (Link and BEN), nothing different. i wasn't there when he played it, but it looks to me like in the beginning when he first spawns he's testing out his equipment or seeing what items he has or something, because apparently they've changed randomly before. he really wanted you guys to see this, and the video starts then, after that i just think the game got too personal for him.
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video features Alex's playthrough of the Majora's Mask Cartridge.
- Alex proceeds to play the "Link" file.
- Link is seen equipping the "Mask of Truth" several times before proceeding to Ikana Castle.
- The cutscene of Link learning the "Elegy of Emptiness". After this, he's attacked and killed by the mini-boss Gomess.
- Link is taken to a graveyard. He finds a grave that's said to contain a "vessel that holds wandering spirits", which he falls into.
- Link is taken to the area below the Clock Tower. Here, he encounters the Elegy Statue and can be seen standing frozen next to both it and the Happy Mask Salesman.
- A new save file is created below the "Link" save file - one that's named "MATT".
On September 15th, 2010, Alex's roommate returned and made his final post on /x/. This one simply read "Honesty is the best policy." and contained a link to Alex's aforementioned notes. Strangely, these were titled "TheTruth.rtf" - not "TheTruth.txt". Alex began taking these notes on September 6th when he first began playing Majora's Mask. He claims that in each of his videos he interacted with the Lens of Truth, the Mask of Truth or a Gossip Stone - all items associated with honesty and truth. However, he never did any of these things while playing the "BEN" file - hoping to convey the message that BEN could not be trusted. Alex reveals that BEN has been watching him at every turn and altering his files and messages, forcing him into using such secretive methods of communication.
As the notes properly begin, it's revealed that the friend that accompanied Alex to the Old Man's house on September 7th was named Tyler. He also believed he saw the Elegy Statue in real life staring at him on his way back to his dorm room. Upon uploading the footage to his computer later that night, he claimed he heard his computer emit a strange sound. He also revealed that the Jadusable YouTube channel didn't belong solely to him - he actually used to share it with a friend. It's implied that this friend is the one who uploaded the Rosa video in 2009 - not Alex.
On September 8th, Alex began experiencing strange headaches and could hear the "Song of Unhealing". Strangely, Alex supposedly wrote something down in his notes on 3:00 PM, but it had since been deleted. It's revealed that shortly after this, a link to Cleverbot.com appeared on Alex's computer - a website where users could chat with a simplistic AI program.
Hello?
Hello.
Listen, I know whoever's fucking with my computer can see my screen right now and I'll wager that youre one of those IT kids who thinks he's tough shit. You know what you're doing right now is illegal, right/?
Is it?
No shit. Are you familiar with hte terms "invasion of privacy?". Get the fuck off my computer, kid
I am your computer.
Cool story. Anyway, I'm calling DPS, you picked abad time to fuck with me kid.
Should I wait until you play the game then?
...What?
That game.
How did you know about that?
I played with you.
What the fuck? Who the fuck is this?
Ben.
The statue? You're inside my computer now?
Yes.
How?
Cables and cords.
What the fuck, how the fuck did you just open that by yourself?
I am your computer now.
How much can you control?
All.
What do you want from me?
To entertain.
You're stuck inside there. You can't hurt me?
Ha. Go play.
No, you can't hurt me.
ook you longer to type that. You're not sure.
BEN had managed to enter Alex's computer via the equipment that was being used to record the Majora's Mask gameplay. He now had full control of Alex's computer and was attempting to coerce him into playing the game some more. Alex gave in, leading to the events seen in the video "BEN.wmv". After this, BEN revealed that he was currently stuck inside the Majora's Mask cartridge and Alex's computer and that he wished to be freed. Alex attempted to ignore him, but this only led to his dorm room developing an incredibly eerie and haunted feeling - implying that BEN could manipulate his real world surroundings to some extent.
Early in the morning on September 9th, Alex realized that the summary he had written for "BEN.wmv" had been altered by BEN, who had apparently omitted some details about Ben's death and the Moon ChildrenThe Moon Children are enigmatic characters that can be found within the moon in Majora's Mask. They wear masks associated with the game's four main bosses.
However, the Moon Children is also the name of an organization that will be covered in more detail in the next story section. It's possible that this is actually what Alex had originally written about that was later omitted by BEN.. Afterwards, Alex went to sleep and had a nightmare that the Moon Children and the Happy Mask Salesman painfully transforming his body into an Elegy Statue.
Alex woke up and confronted BEN on Cleverbot.com.
Answer me, ben.
Welcome back.
What is the point of doing this, WHY?
Amusing to see. Fun to play, fun to toy with you, make you feel safe. I wonder how you would have reacted.
To what?
If I hadn't revealed myself and stayed hidden, only doing little things to play with you. Close out your windows, turn off your computer, move your mouse by itself. Little things. Make you wonder if I am there but you never know. Give you little hints that I am. I wanted to do something different with you.
You did this before?
Yes. And I will do it again.
To who, Ben? Did you know Ben?
Won't tell that information to you.
How did he drown?
Won't tell that to you. It is reserved for another.
Who?
Another who asks.
When?
Later.
Alex begins speculating that the malicious spirit known as BEN and the child who drowned named Ben aren't related at all - BEN simply stole his identity after killing him. The threatening aura in Alex's dorm room worsens. He begins fearing that BEN will kill him. Feeling paranoid, Alex attempts to play Majora's Mask once again in an attempt to please him. He begins questioning reality itself as BEN has the ability to manipulate everything on his computer. After this, the events of "DROWNED.wmv" took place. Strangely, there was also originally a summary for an unseen video named "CHILDREN.wmv" found in Alex's notes. However, he himself does not recall this video existing and it's possible that BEN himself added this in. It supposedly resembled Alex's nightmare from the night prior.
A disturbing image of BEN that later became Alex's online avatar.
On September 10th, BEN himself uploaded "DROWNED.wmv". Alex discovered that he had once again omitted details from its summary - mainly ones pertaining to the Old Man. Later that day, Alex looked out his window and supposedly saw the Old Man staring back up at him. After this, Alex decided to play the game one last time. He proceeds to explain the events of "jadusable.wmv". However, it's implied that this video was originally titled "Matt.wmv". Not only that, but there seemed to be a fairly extensive beginning section of the video that was omitted by BEN.
Instead of this video beginning at Ikana Canyon as seen in "jadusable.wmv", Alex originally spawned into Clock Town. Here, he was determined to play the "Oath to OrderThe Oath to Order is a song from Majora's Mask that can be played on the Ocarina. Its purpose is to summon the Four Giants so that the moon's descent can be stopped, leading to the game's final bossfight." atop the Clock Tower on the fourth day in an attempt to set things right. However, the game would not allow Alex to preform the glitch as characters repeatedly told him that it was cheating. Instead, he was told that the game would end and he would be freed from BEN's hauntings if he went to Ikana Canyon. He was also told that his inventory supposedly held secrets that would give him a hint on what to do. Alex noticed that the had not yet learned the Elegy of Emptiness, which is why he decided to go to Ikana Castle, as seen in the rest of "jadusable.wmv".
Early in the morning on September 12th, Alex explains that he's finished writing these notes on a computer in his college's library. He urges players to not download anything relating to his account or his videos, fearing that BEN might be able to use them to free himself. He also tells players to not trust anything coming from his accounts after September 12th, believing that BEN might try to impersonate him in the future. Alex plans on burning the Majora's Mask cartridge and destroying his laptop in an attempt to stop BEN.
Hauntingly, Alex reveals that he's actually lived in a single-room dorm this entire time, meaning it's impossible for his roommate to have ever existed in the first place. This implies that the individual who uploaded "jadusable.wmv" and posted "TheTruth.rtf" was actually BEN himself. By downloading these notes en masse, the players had inadvertently allowed BEN to spread across the internet - as indicated by the document's closing message:
BEN
"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."
The players' fears were confirmed shortly after the upload of "TheTruth.rtf" when a new video appeared on Jadusable's YouTube channel:
Description
it's only just a game, remember? it can't really hurt you; http://www.mediafire.com/?6t16r3dp7gt2wbt
<--- Click for Video Transcript
Summary
- This video features a message from BEN thanking the players - presumably for downloading "TheTruth.rf" and helping him spread across the internet.
