Story (Full) 4
Notice: This page begins coverage of the first arc of Johnisdead. Johnisdead shares several characters, concepts, and locations with Ben Drowned - a separate ARG created by Alex Hall in 2010. It is recommended that one becomes familiar with Ben Drowned through one of the following methods:
- The first three pages of this story recap, which are dedicated to covering Ben Drowned.
- A summary of Ben Drowned, which can be found on the Story Summary Page.
- An even shorter recap of Ben Drowned, which can be found on the Story Cliffnotes Page.
If you're already familiar with Ben Drowned, continue reading on:
The story so far...
In the previous section, the ARG's creator, Alex, seeming stepped out from behind the curtain and announced that the story was on hiatus. However, during this period that was supposedly meant to be out-of-character, the players noticed several oddities. This culminated in "The Glitch" - an event that corrupted YSHDT.net, allowing the players to access various hidden files. Here, it seemed as though several characters such as Alex were trapped and asking for help.
One of these files was a message from Matt warning that someone named "Kayd Hendricks" was in danger. Kayd was actually Ryukaki - a player who had received the login information for "The Truth" from Rosa before her disappearance. After this, Kayd uploaded several videos to his YouTube channel showing that he was being chased by BEN. At one point, he attempted to hide out in a mysterious location called "The Orchard", though this attempt was short-lived. Unfortunately, the players were unable to save Kayd as he was presumably killed - though not before giving the players a piece of the login information for "The Truth".
After this, Alex teased that the final part of the ARG would coincide with the release of a video game. Unfortunately, this game's development was very troubled and was repeatedly delayed. Eventually, Alex created Within Hubris - a canon message board where the players could cooperate more efficiently. Within Hubris also contained Wayward Horizon - a strange board that seemed to contain the souls of ascended Moon Children. This seems to imply that ascension results in the soul of the participant being trapped within digital environments or technology - much like how Ben was trapped within the Majora's Mask cartridge.
Eventually, the ARG was placed on hiatus once again as Alex moved onto another project - a film titled "Methods of Revolution". After a while, Within Hubris was deleted, forcing the players to create their own version called "Newbris". Over the next few years, all was quiet on Within Hubris. That is, until 2015...
After Within Hubris shut down in 2012, the players spent the next few years creating their own projects on the board's successor - Newbris. For the sake of simplicity, Newbris will simply be referred to as "Within Hubris" throughout these pages. By 2015, most players had given up hope of Alex ever returning to complete Ben Drowned. However, on January 22nd, 2015, a new user reignited the players' interests.
thelaw
Group: Canon Characters
Member: #592
Joined: January 22, 2015
Jan 22 2015, 07:12 PM Post #1
I just read the arg a few days ago and decided to look up some things in case i could find something.
I looked at all the sites
http://jadusable.wikia.com/wiki/Jadusable_Wiki
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20745027/18FebYSHDTzip/18FebYSHDT/main.htm
http://yshdt.com/
When is the arg coming back?
Sengi
Group: Players
Member: #342
Joined: March 4, 2013
Jan 22 2015, 07:41 PM Post #2
It'll resume when Half Life 2 Episode 3 releases... AKA THE FUCKING RAPTURE!!!!
Mugen Kagemaru
Group: Players
Member: #83
Joined: August 15, 2012
Jan 22 2015, 07:42 PM Post #3
As soon as Mr. Hall finishes and releases his movie, Methods Of Revolution, he has promised that he will immediately resume working on the ARG.
thelaw
Group: Canon Characters
Member: #592
Joined: January 22, 2015
Jan 22 2015, 07:55 PM Post #4
oh ok
The site said soon so i thought he had a date
Sengi
Group: Players
Member: #342
Joined: March 4, 2013
Jan 22 2015, 08:03 PM Post #5
You're really naive, arent ya?
EDIT: HO, SHIT!! yshdt works!? Wonder if it's true then...
Edited by Sengi, Jan 22 2015, ((Unknown Time)).
GreyouTT
Group: Players
Member: #27
Joined: August 10, 2012
Jan 22 2015, 10:08 PM Post #6
Whoa what the fuck? When the hell did that happen?
Sengi
Group: Players
Member: #342
Joined: March 4, 2013
Jan 22 2015, 10:10 PM Post #7
The 15th, apparently. I made a thread to discuss it kinda maybe sorta
thelaw
Group: Canon Characters
Member: #592
Joined: January 22, 2015
Jan 23 2015, 01:03 AM Post #8
You did not know?
A user named thelaw joined Within Hubris and asked if Ben Drowned was starting up again. Some players scoffed at this idea, having lost faith in Alex years ago. However, they quickly noticed something odd with thelaw's post - he had linked to a brand new website, YSHDT.com. This acronym was a clear reference to the Moon Children's website Youshouldnthavedonethat.net from Ben Drowned. While the players were shocked at the website's existence, thelaw was more surprised that the players hadn't stumbled across it yet. It seems as though thelaw had simply come across YSHDT.com while researching Ben Drowned and assumed that it was already something that was widely known.
Upon accessing YSHDT.com, players were met with a Zelda-styled text box that read as follows:
It's been too long.
I survived.
The sky is falling, the people are crying. Where is your link now?
This message was presumably from BEN himself, taunting the players for failing to defeat him back during the events of Ben Drowned. In an attempt to round up some remaining players, the player Sengi created a thread on Within Hubris dedicated to investigating YSHDT.com.
Sengi
Group: Players
Member: #342
Joined: March 4, 2013
Jan 22 2015, 08:44 PM Post #1
Ok, so a little while ago this new guy posts in the Help Central asking when the ARG returns, and one of the links he puts up is This one here
A page called yshdt.com... not the full old "youshouldnthavedonethat.net" because that's a corpse.
In the page there's a zelda-styled textbox saying
"Im still waiting
Let's play again soon"
with some eerie music playing in the background, and maybe some figure in the darkness, I can't really telland honestly, it unnerves me to fuck and back, im a scaredy-cat, whatever
When inspecting the html, there's text saying
So..... New development hype or troll baiting us? Discuss
thelaw
Group: Canon Characters
Member: #592
Joined: January 22, 2015
Jan 22 2015, 08:48 PM Post #2
yes hello
I am that new guy. So the ARG is coming back soon?
Spirkiroid
Group: Players
Member: #12
Joined: August 10, 2012
Jan 22 2015, 08:57 PM Post #3
hm
Players began theorizing whether or not YSHDT.com was an official continuation of Ben Drowned created by Alex Hall. Meanwhile, the website updated once again. It now featured an eyeless version of Link with updated text that now read "I'm still waiting. Let's play again soon.". This was accompanied with a reversed version of the "Game Over" theme from the original Legend of Zelda game - more hints that the players failed to stop BEN in the past and that he now wished to challenge them once again.
On January 24th, 2015, the player Greyoutt decided to submit the "Oath to Order". This was done for two reasons:
- An attempt to summon a new Link for the players.
- A joke referencing how submitting the "Oath to Order" led to disastrous consequences during Ben Drowned.
As the players waited to see the results of this submission, they decided to form their own official player group. At the time, many of the players exploring YSHDT.com had previously investigated a mysterious Ben Drowned-related videogame named Remember.exe. Since activity involving that game had dwindled, these players decided to repurpose their Remember.exe Skype Group into one dedicated specifically to YSHDT.com. They called this new group the Internet Detectives. Two new players named Tyler and Jacob even created a theme song for this new group:
After this, YSHDT.com remained untouched - that is until February 13th, 2015 when its front page updated with a video titled "dontstickaround.swf".
Description
N/A
<--- Click for Video Transcript
This video began with a black screen. Suddenly, the "Oath to Order" plays out on-screen. This is followed by a laugh from the Skull Kid.
Summary
- Unfortunately, this video was not archived.
- This video simply featured the "Oath to Order" being played - followed by a laugh from the Skull Kid.
Sadly, this video was not archived. Its contents seem to suggest that BEN was amused by the players' submission of the "Oath to Order". After staying on YSHDT.com's front page for a while after the video already ended, players would be redirected to a new page - "http://yshdt.com/news". This page was titled "What does he know?" and contained an image of the following newspaper article:
Cherrington High
New Spiritual Discovery!
By DOUGLAS P.
Left behind in a small town, one of the few scientifically-minded pastors is left to govern his own local chapter. In this small town, however, a seemingly large discover has been found. Now that I think about it, the father there didn't really want me to Know the specifics, only that it is the next stage ████████████████████. Eternal happiness is well at hand, he claims, due to his amazing discovery about how ██████████████████████████ data! ████████████████ of two worlds, ████████████ will lead to the understanding of ███████████ our new scientific world! Do read on, to see the future of █████████ knowledge as a whole!
Continued on page 8
This article was written by Douglas P. - a student attending Cherrington High. Doug writes about the leader of a local religious group who's made some sort of scientific and spiritual discovery involving data and multiple worlds. Doug refers to this individual as "The Father". All of this sounds very reminiscent of the Moon Children. It's also worth noting that the image of this newspaper article was entirely black and white except for a single red dot that could be found near the bottom of the page. The existence of this red dot puzzled many players and led to them speculating about its significance - along with the elusive "Page 8".
Upon examining this article further, players noticed that the capitalized letters within it spelled out a word - "LINKED". This led them to a new page on the website - "http://yshdt.com/linked". This page contained "blue.jpg" - a photo taken underwater that was looking back up towards the surface. Accompanying it was an audio file that contained an SSTV signal - a series of audio tones that can be played through a special program to reveal hidden images. The image hidden within this audio was of BEN along with the following text:
GAME OVER
CONTINUE?
> YES
> NO
Further exploration of the website led players to "http://yshdt.com/warning" - a page that contained the following threatening message:
Curiosity killed that cat. That's what the mother said to the brat. But the cat didn't listen. And then lost it's vision. Because it couldn't find it's way home. Go home.
Not long afterwards, this page was deleted and replaced with what appeared to be a generic "404 - Page Not Found" page. However, remaining on this page for an extended period of time would cause another SSTV signal to play - this one containing the following text:
Find your way home. He needs you. But you cannot help him If you cannot help yourselves. 4 days.
Douglas's newspaper article.
The watery image found on "/linked".
The image hidden within the SSTV signal found on "/linked".
The image hidden within the SSTV signal found on "/warning".
The players were supposedly being tasked with saving someone - and they only had four days to do it. The individual in question was presumably Doug, since he was the only named character at this point. Two days later on February 15th, 2015, players discovered that "/warning" had updated once again. It now contained text that read "For more information, see /home.", leading players to another new page - "http://yshdt.com/home". This page was titled "Play Ball" and contained an image of a baseball field, which was accompanied by the Internet Detectives theme song. However, the audio file now featured someone quietly whispering "No." after the song. This was all possibly indicative of BEN once again being ready to play with and challenge the players.
On February 16th, 2015, players discovered that the image of the baseball field from "/home" actually hid a text file within its code. This is a technique known as "steganography", and it would appear somewhat frequently as the ARG progressed. The text file in question was titled "warning.txt" and simply asked "How can you play a game you haven’t even started?". Players discovered that the image of Doug's newspaper article also contained a hidden text file. This one was titled "oh.txt" and read as follows:
I wish I could go back.
The father is now who he seemed. He is not what he seemed.
He hurt us.
He hurt him.
I just want to go back.
Back in time.
Back before I betrayed my mother.
Before I joined this religion.
I'm scared mommy.
- Doug
Doug was clearly regretting having joined the religious group he was seen praising from before. Something went wrong and "The Father" was revealed to be a malicious, harmful individual. Later that night, the front page of YSHDT.com updated with a new video - "Game over.swf".
Description
N/A
<--- Click for Video Transcript
This video begins with gameplay footage of Majora's Mask. Deku Link is in Termina Field near Snowhead. It is 8:00 PM on the night of the first day, and he has two rupees. The Deku Mask and Lens of Truth can be seen in his inventory. Deku Link dies, presumably to an Eeno enemy, which can be seen in the background.
The game over screen appears, presenting the player with the option to continue. The cursor highlights "No", "Yes", and "No", in that order. The following text then appears:
"DAWN of the Second Day"
"DAWN of the Third Day"
"DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY"
The option "No" is selected, causing the video to begin corrupting. The screen fades to white as the following text appears:
"You failed.
At the most basic task."
The Happy Mask Salesman's laugh can be heard. An image of the Ocarina of Time appears and the "Song of Time" is played. The word "No" then appears on a black screen as the Skull Kid's laugh is heard.
Summary
- This video features gameplay footage of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
- Deku Link can be seen dying in Termina Field, resulting in a Game Over.
- The cursor repeatedly switches between "Yes" and "No" when asked if the player wishes to continue.
- The "Dawn of ------ Day" screens flash on screen as "No" is seemingly selected.
- The players are told that they've "Failed at the most basic task." as the Happy Mask Salesman laughs at them.
- The "Song of Time" plays as the word "No" once again flashes on screen.
The players witness Deku Link die - likely representing whatever terrible fate befell Doug. They are then mocked for failing to save him. After this, the "Song of Time" plays - possibly indicating that the players are about to interact with the past.
Players discovered that if they remained on the front page of YSHDT.com for too long, they would be redirect to a new website - a blog titled "Letschasethemouse" hosted on Blogspot.com. This blog was ran by someone named "DandP" and contained the following posts:
2/13/15 - Beginnings
I just re-created my blog.
It sucks starting from scratch, but whatever. At least I get to start anew.
2/13/15
Today was fun.
I spent most of my time inside today, reading articles on the internet.
I should join my high school newspaper, it'd be fun.
2/15/15
Work today was bad.
I have to tell you, it'd be a terrible fate to be relegated a job you know you suck at, when a better position is out there.
A better position for me.
2/15/15
This is odd.
My friend told me of a club that he was hoping I'd join.
He told me that they could let me live forever.
And that we'd be changing things inside out soon.
I'm not too sure about this, but why not?
2/16/16 - Finding a Religion
I've been invited to go visit their congregation out in the woods by my friend.
We're going to head out in about an hour and a half.
I'm excited, if not a little worried.
2/16/16 - The Truth
I'm going to try to figure out everything I can. This is huge.
I swore an oath of secrecy, but I'm still just so amazed by everything they told me.
I'll have a long ways ahead of me, and a lot of work to do before I'm ready, though.
DandP created Letschasethemouse just a few days prior. It's implied that he had a previous blog that was deleted for some reason. He mentions that he wants to join his high school's newspaper team. This led to players speculating that he might actually be a past version of Douglas P. This seems to be the case, as DandP also revealed that they were invited to join a religious group by one of their friends, catching us back up to the present. Here, players began chatting with Doug via the comments on his blog.
Hey, friend. Are you there?
Sorry, I've been having trouble with my computer recently. Anyways, who are you?
I read what I believe to be you article?
Huh? I haven't written any articles.
I'm sorry, may I ask your name?
Douglas.
Douglas P?
...Yeah. I guess my name kinda gives that away.
Did you not write this article?
((A link to the newspaper article discovered on YSHDT.com is sent.))
No... But that's my high school. I'm actually getting creeped out now. Are you guys from school?
Yes we are. But it feels like we know whats going on.
DandP confirms that his username is a shorthand for his real name - Douglas P.. He also confirms that he's a student at Cherrington High School - however, he hasn't written any articles and has yet to join the school's newspaper team. This is more evidence hinting that the players are actually interacting with the past and speaking to a past version of Doug. Doug quickly becomes suspicious of the players, but they manage to quell his fears by claiming that they're fellow students at Cherrington.
We know you are interested in this religious organization but I don't think you should do it.
I know it's a little odd to see a new religion start up - especially in this Christian nation of ours, but it will lead us all closer to god and happiness.
How could we go about joining?
I will set you up with my friend. He will contact you through e-mail or blogspot.
I am also interested. Mine is TheSunIsTheBestSolarBody@gmail.com
Not you, The Sun. I see by your profile you don't live near me.
The players attempt to persuade Doug to leave the cult. Unfortunately, he's already somewhat attached to his new religion and is unwilling to leave it. The players instead attempted to learn more information about the cult through another way. The players Jacob and Dawn of a New Day ("Dawn" for short) both asked Doug if they could join the cult. However, only Jacob was accepted - Dawn supposedly lived too far away. This implies that the cult was located in the same state that Jacob lived in - Florida. Doug proceeded to share Jacob's information with his friend - the same individual who oversaw his own initiation into the cult.
Be careful. Things may not be as they seem and you may be wandering into a spider's web...
What?
Form your own thoughts. Let none think for you. But most importantly, take nothing at face value. Remember the Assassins, their creed, and what that creed means.
Are you serious? The Assassins Creed?? Ignore this guy, he's just trolling
Good advice. I will ignore this guy from now on.
One rather strange player named Mugen Kagemaru attempts to warn Doug in a cryptic way. Fortunately, the other players manage to convince Doug to ignore Mugen's comments - not wanting Doug to be weirded out. A full archive of these conversations can be found below:
Doug Blog Comments
Jacob Anthony: "Hey, friend. Are you there?"
DandP: "Sorry, I've been having trouble with my computer recently. Anyways, who are you?"
Jacob Anthony: "I read what I believe to be you article?"
DandP: "Huh? I haven't written any articles."
Jacob Anthony: "I'm sorry, may I ask your name?"
DandP: "Douglas."
Jacob Anthony: "Douglas P?"
DandP: "..Yeah. I guess my name kinda gives that away."
Jacob Anthony: "http://i.imgur.com/kMohnwR.jpg Did you not write this article?"
DandP: "No...but that's my high school. I'm actually getting creeped out now. Are you guys from school?"
Jacob Anthony: "Yes we are. But it feels like we know whats going on. We know you are interested in this religious organisation but I don't think you should do it."
DandP: "Alright, that takes a load off my mind. I know it's a little odd to see a new religion start up, especially in this Christian nation of ours, but it will lead us all closer to god and happiness."
ADU: "Mind if i ask for the rest of that article? that is, if you are able to get it."
Jacob Anthony: "I understand what it sounds like but we've seen this happen before. This particular one isn't safe."
DandP: "I'm sorry, friend, but I haven't seen that article in the paper. I wasn't even aware we had color in our school newspaper."
Jacob Anthony: "if I may ask, what does the P in your name stand for?"
Jacob Anthony: "How could we go about joining?"
Jacob L.: "I am also interested."
DandP: "I will set you up with my friend. He will contact you through e-mail or blogspot."
ADU: "Mind if i get an email too? Email is **********@gmail.com"
DandP: "I don't think they would appreciate so many new members at once. I'm sorry."
Jacob Anthony: "My email is ***************@gmail.com if you were talking to me about setting me up. It would be much appreciated."
Jacob L.: "Mine is TheSunIsTheBestSolarBody@gmail.com"
DandP: "My friend will contact you in a day or two. I have to talk to him."
ADU: "Sweet, Thanks Dan"
Jacob Anthony: "I thank you much. I look forward to it."
DandP: "Not you, the sun. I see by your profile you don't live near me."
ADU: "It doesent say where i live"
Stevey: "do you have a name for this my friend? I'd like to join also.."
DandP: "I'm sorry, you probably don't live near me. But hopefully someday the group will spread far enough so that you may join, also."
Stevey: "I shall await eagerly for this day. Thank you, regardless. And now my wait begins.."
Stevey: "I am currently in the UK, if that matters any.."
DandP: "One day we will hopefully have congregations around the world."
DandP: ((This comment has been removed by the author))
Mugen Kagemaru: "Be careful. Things may not be as they seem and you may be wandering into a spider's web..."
ADU: "No."
DandP: "What?"
Mugen Kagemaru: "Form your own thoughts. Let none think for you. But most importantly, take nothing at face value. Remember the Assassins, their creed, and what that creed means."
Unknown: "Are you serious? The Assassins Creed?? Ignore this guy, he's just trolling"
DandP: "Good advice. I will ignore this guy from now on."
Oceanstuck: "huh. seems like youre turning a new leaf. ive been needing something like that for a while, so can i have in?"
DandP: "As I told another person, I don't think you live close enough to me to be able to join. But someday hopefully you'll be able to join also."
Oceanstuck: "are you sure? where _do_ you live anyway? is it near some cherrington high place?"
DandP: "This is kinda scary. Are you guys from the government?"
Oceanstuck: "as funny as itd be to say yes just to see your reaction, no. i just really want to know about this new faith youve found and if i can join"
Oceanstuck: "so tell me, what makes you think i live too far away to join"
DandP: "I just said I didn't think. That was before I knew you were from my school."
X3KidPichu: "sounds interesting. Besides location is there any prerequisite to joining? I'd like to prepare if this ever becomes widespread."
DandP: "You must be of age, have an open mind, and have a great affinity for space. Namely, the moon."
X3KidPichu: "Alright thank you so much. I'm even more excited to join now."
On February 17th, 2015, Doug made two new posts on his blog:
2/17/15 - Deja Vu
I just had a serious case of Deja Vu.
The building they took me too looked so familiar. I could have sworn it used to be the old fishery.
I'll grab some pictures later. Maybe you guys know what I'm talking about.
2/17/15 - Fishery
The cult had supposedly granted Doug access to their headquarters - an old Fishery out in the middle of the woods. Players began prying for more information in the comments:
Huh... Looks familiar...
Sounds fishy
That sounds like it would hurt. Don't bass have teeth?
Actually, yes they do.
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