Ben Drowned
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''Ben Drowned'' (originally published as ''Haunted Majora's Mask Cartridge'') is a three-part
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...
alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by int ...
(ARG) web serial and
web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...
created by Alexander D. Hall under the pen name Jadusable. Originating as a creepypasta based on the 2000
action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...
'' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'' and published by Hall from 2010 to 2020 with a hiatus in-between, the series is known for creating many of the current common
tropes Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in m ...
and themes of creepypasta and for subverting themes from ''
The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...
'' series. The series concluded on October 31, 2020. Serving as Hall's first project, the first arc of the series, ''Haunted Cartridge'', was released in 2010. It follows college
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
Jadusable, who, after acquiring a haunted
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
video game cartridge of ''Majora's Mask'', is plagued over the course of a single week by the presence of a seemingly omniscient
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
entity called BEN. The second arc, titled ''Moon Children'' and set from late 2010 to early 2011, follows the public emergence of a mysterious cult known as The Moon Children, who worshipped the Moon by way of
human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...
, or in their words, ascension. The third arc, titled ''Awakening'', began in March 2020, following new and returning characters who have become involved in multiple events of the current year. This arc introduced new scenarios detailing the aftermath of an in-universe event in 2018 that caused the collapse of civilized society, as well as continuing stories established in the previous arcs with the intent of tying them together. The series is one of the most popular web serials, with a viewership in the millions, and has been widely recognized as both an example of a modern
urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...
and a major influence in helping to establish and legitimize creepypasta as a
literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by List of narrative techniques, literary technique, Tone (literature), tone, Media (communication), content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from mor ...
, creating many of the recognizable tropes that are now seen today in modern internet horror stories.


Publication

''Ben Drowned'' was first published as an online serial and web series with chapters released daily between September 7 and September 15, 2010, on 4chan's /x/ board. This first arc came to be known as ''The Haunted Cartridge''. The second arc, ''The Moon Children'', began from September 17 that same year until July 15, 2011, totaling 3,591,600 words and 382 minutes of footage from the arcs. Hall used a method of
transmedia storytelling Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of adapting a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. From a product ...
through a combination of YouTube videos, written chapters, and audience input to weave a story about a character named BEN – supposedly a
malevolent spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the ghost, spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial o ...
of a dead child – who haunts the author (referred to in the story as Jadusable) in a copy of '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask''. The first arc is told in first-person, as the author comes to the audience (in this case, an online forum) for help figuring out this strange game he bought. The story went viral; with viewers praising the story's mysterious and frightening nature, as well as Hall's ability to deftly weave
breadcrumbs Breadcrumbs are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cutlet ...
and other hidden clues to keep readers on the hook and guessing about the multiple theories that surrounded the story. The original story ends on a
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...
, with the readers themselves inadvertently helping unleash BEN onto the internet at large through sharing of the files that were given to them, supposedly by Jadusable. However, by decoding a secret hidden
cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
in Hall's YouTube account, investigative readers gained access to a website that led to the story's second arc, known as ''Moon Children''. Despite it taking the appearance of an ordinary mid-2000s website, similar to
Angelfire Angelfire is an Internet service that offers website services. It is owned by Lycos, which also owns Tripod.com. Angelfire operates separately from Tripod.com and includes features such as blog building and a photo gallery builder. Free webpag ...
, readers were able to find hidden URLs and secret conversations between the website's users, depicting a narrative that the website was home to a
Doomsday cult A doomsday cult is a cult that believes in apocalypticism and millenarianism, including both those that predict disaster and those that attempt to destroy the entire universe. Sociologist John Lofland coined the term ''doomsday cult'' in his 19 ...
that was stuck in a
time loop The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby Character (arts), characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Time loops are co ...
similar to the one serving as the main mechanic of ''Majora's Mask'', with the website resetting itself every three days. Information found on the website on the third day could then be used by readers, either through online methods such as emails or by submitting videos of users playing specific songs from both ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' and ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'', to unlock an alternate path on the first day after the website reset. This arc was ended on a cliffhanger, with Hall announcing a hiatus on July 15, 2011. The story followed a strict publication schedule, with new content released over the course of two weeks, including videos posted on Hall's YouTube channel, themselves made using
Project64 Project64 is a free and open-source Nintendo 64 emulator written in the programming languages C and C++ for Microsoft Windows. This software uses a plug-in system allowing third-party groups to use their own plug-ins to implement specific c ...
and
cheat codes Cheating in video games involves a video game player using various methods to create an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually in order to make the game easier. Cheats may be activated from within the game itself (a cheat code implemented by ...
taken from
GameShark GameShark is the brand name of a line of video game cheat cartridges and other products for a variety of console video game systems and Windows-based computers. Since January 23, 2003, the brand name has been owned by Mad Catz, which marketed G ...
. The second arc was split into two separate parts, ''YSHDT'' (short for ''youshouldnthavedonethat.net'') and ''Hubris'', each of which covered a specific series of events. Upon its launch, the series garnered over 100,000 views in its first two days of publication; and as of 2020, it maintains a very high level of viewership, with over 2 million unique visitors in March, nearly eight years after completion of the first two arcs. In October 2017, Hall expressed interest in developing a third arc, also revealing he had anonymously created a second "popular" creepypasta series unrelated to ''Ben Drowned''. The third ''Ben Drowned'' arc, titled ''Awakening'', began publication on March 17, 2020, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'', with updates being provided every three days before settling into a weekly update schedule. This arc is split into three separate parts: ''Awakening'', ''Methods of Revolution'' (incorporating elements of Hall's unmade feature-length film of the same name), and ''The Last Hero'', a resurgence of the original format of video publication where the current author of the videos would upload them to Jadusable's YouTube channel. The third part details the events surrounding Sarah, a new player who is trying to free the trapped souls of characters new and old.


Background

''Ben Drowned'' is set in a fictional, alternate universe closely following that of Earth prior to the emergence of a
cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
known as the Moon Children who worshiped the Moon, known to them as Luna. Sometime after the release of ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'', a twelve-year-old boy named 'Ben' was chosen as the experiment for a new project by the Moon Children. Coerced by them to join their group under the promise of having friends and being like his childhood hero, Link, Ben was soon unwillingly drowned in an attempted Moon Children ritual called ascension where the sacrifice becomes a prisoner of their own making, a catalyst for the cult to continue their plans. The resulting creation, named 'BEN', the original 'Ben' no longer having any physical control as the dominant mindset, is sealed inside a copy of ''Majora's Mask'' and merged with the
program Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...
s within, before being subsequently watched over by an old man. The old man, in time, entrusts the cartridge to a random college
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
student who bought it not knowing that it was a cursed object while several of the cult's members begin to continue their plan within the Internet, including a mysterious being, known as "Kelbris, The Father", who online takes the form of the Happy Mask Salesman. Ultimately, upon entering the Internet themselves, 'BEN' begins to wreak havoc on the sites and videos where the sophomore student, known as Jadusable, interacted all in service of "The Father". The first and third arcs are set across the homes and locations, dealing with several college-age adults in multiple unspecified locations, set in the United States, and within the Internet, while the second arc is solely set within the Internet.


Plot summary


''The Haunted Majora's Mask Cartridge''

In September 2010, Jadusable is a college student who bought a suspicious
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
cartridge labeled "Majora" (indicating it to be a copy of ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'') by a disconcerting old man at a garage sale, with the save data of former owner "Ben" still on it. As Jadusable plays the game, little inconsistencies begin to pop up, turning to outright
glitches A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pla ...
, leading Jadusable to go to the online site
4chan 4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from video games and television to literature, cooking, weapons, mu ...
to post about his playing of the game as it unfolds. Playing as Link, Jadusable attempts different ways to modify the game out of curiosity. It reaches the point where he tries the day four glitch, a well-known glitch in the ''Majora's Mask'' community where the player skips the third day's ending with the ability to explore the in-game world as depicted in the credits section. This causes the day four glitch to break the normality of the game, and Jadusable soon finds himself alone in Clock Town with all of the inhabitants gone. He is unable to advance the game by turning back time while endlessly hearing the laugh of the Happy Mask Salesman. In an attempt to achieve a "
Game Over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...
" and return to the main menu, Jadusable forces Link to drown in a pond; when he does, Link clutches his head, screaming as in a mask animation, with the screen flashing to depict the Happy Mask Salesman, smiling and laughing. The game continues, and the "Song of Healing" plays in reverse; a statue of Link is summoned, its face locked in an unblinking stare. The statue follows Jadusable's character, moving just outside of the camera's perspective, throughout the town. Jadusable tries to escape it, but nothing works. In desperation, Jadusable turns the camera to face the statue directly. After a while, the screen flashes back to the Happy Mask Salesman and Link, but only the latter turns this time. The Salesman, the statue, and Link all become locked in place, staring through the screen, directly at Jadusable. Throughout several sessions over a series of days, Jadusable writes in painstaking detail about each bizarre scenario he finds himself in, including spontaneously bursting into flames and lying unconscious (or dead) as the Majora-possessed Skull Kid looks on in silence. In a desperate attempt to return the cartridge to the old man who sold it to him, he sees the house empty, the old man's neighbor informing him that he has moved away. Jadusable, after hearing from the neighbor as to what happened in the house that the old man lived in, concludes that the cartridge is possessed by the spirit of its previous owner, a 12-year-old boy named Ben who had drowned almost eight years prior. Subsequently, a figure calling themselves "BEN" seemingly begins contacting him in and beyond the game itself, including changing his computer screen wallpaper to depict the Elegy of Emptiness and speaking through the online
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
Cleverbot. Using the Elegy statue as its physical form, BEN seems to take pride in being able to manipulate Jadusable, who subsequently describes a series of dreams about the Moon Children depicted in the game's finale, including himself physically transforming into the Elegy, and how he believes he saw the old man who sold him the cartridge on his street looking into his window. Eventually, BEN is revealed to have been hijacking Jadusable's computer and providing a false account of the story's narrative and resolution to 4chan and YouTube, using it to escape the cartridge onto the Internet, declaring, "Now I am everywhere." A secret note from Jadusable after an apparent
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...
from his roommate Tyler (who accompanied Jadusable to the old man's former house after the first time he played the game) offers the "true" telling of events and references videos that were never published, seemingly because BEN had deleted them. After publishing his final account of the past week's events, called TheTruth.rtf, Jadusable is never seen again.


''Moon Children''

Two days after BEN escapes from the cartridge, a cult calling themselves the Moon Children reveals their existence to the world. An unnamed follower of Jadusable's story discovers a cipher on his YouTube channel that eventually leads them to the cult's official website, youshouldnthavedonethat.net, in which three moderators discuss the upcoming " ascension" of one of their members. A post by a fourth user and the website's administrator, named DROWNED (supposedly Mr. D), appears to speak directly to the follower through the avatar of a man wearing a
gas mask A gas mask is a piece of personal protective equipment used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft ...
. By exploring the various links, the follower discovers various details about the cult, including that the original Ben was apparently a member who had been sacrificed alongside several other individuals under the pretense of achieving ascension, that another member named Alex had recently betrayed them, and that they have their own
prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
of end times revolving around the Moon destroying the Earth (à la ''Majora's Mask''), provided to them by their deceased
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
Kelbris in 1998. Kelbris, who similarly died under uncertain circumstances, is now seen within the cult as evidence of his own, successful 'ascension'. The next day, the users are able to contact the moderator "Rodney R" Ifrit, revealed to be "Matt Hubris", who answers several questions before disappearing, including referencing his siblings as Rosa and Ben; the original 'Ben' is confirmed as a member of the Moon Children who was sacrificed on April 23, 2002, via drowning, his body ascending to become the central home of 'BEN' in place of all other ascended members. Coinciding with the end of a countdown on a hidden page, a video of the Song of Time is uploaded as a video response to one of Jadusable's videos. Shortly afterward, their website collapses. The following day, the website is reestablished in an unfinished glitching state, with posts from the previous incarnation being posted again with current dates, revealing that in-game actions from ''Majora's Mask'' have effects on the website. Over the following day, the follower uses in-game actions to advance the story, establishing contact with Rosa, the sister of Matt, whom Rosa says has disappeared, as well as the soon-to-be-ascended moderators Kevin F. "Insidiae", Christopher "Nekko", and Spencer L. "Duskworld23". However, as a result of the follower's actions, Rosa was taken away by a resurrected Kelbris, Alex was killed while working to prevent the actions of the cult, and time is reset again. Time is subsequently revealed to reset every three days, as in ''Majora's Mask''. Alex, apparently resurrected by the reset of time, returns under the guise of "TheLinkMissing" with an additional warning before disappearing, apparently for good, as a result of careless player actions. On October 6, the website undergoes several drastic design changes, signaling the return of the story. Through clever URL changes, the follower discovers several hidden files ranging from used assets to cryptic documents aimed directly at them. Their biggest discovery is found to be the 59th file, mhftt.txt, a final message left by Ifrit before his disappearance. This file names a fellow reader to the follower, Kayd "Ryukaki" Hendricks, who had been in contact with Rosa prior to her death, as having been warned by him of being in danger. Over the next two days, Ryukaki uploads a series of videos indicating that his life is indeed at stake. As of 2020, the videos uploaded by Ryukaki are now seen as ambiguously canon, with many of the things posted in the videos coinciding with the current arc, but others are never referenced again. On November 8, another video uploaded on Jadusable's channel by BEN signals the beginning of the arc's epilogue, with the coming months seeing small changes made to the Moon Children website. On February 17, 2011, a new forum called ''Within Hubris'' is launched as a central hub for the follower and others like them during the next portion of the story. Shortly after its discovery, a hidden section of the forum was revealed to contain the spirits of former members of the Moon Children. Within a week of the site's discovery, the follower begins receiving newspaper clippings in their mail that detail an apparent murder-suicide that took place "three months go in New York, including an apparent message from BEN. On February 26, another video is uploaded to Jadusable's channel, predicting the final warning for the following day. On February 27, a video, known as ''h b i s r e a l'' is uploaded featuring the interior of the house in the newspaper. Following those events, Alex Hall put the story on hiatus for an indefinite time.


''Awakening''

Two years after an unknown societal collapse in 2018, in March 2020, the YouTube channel formerly controlled by Jadusable and BEN is taken over by a resurgent "Jadus", who recounts the
alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
to have occurred in the time since the final ascension of "The Father", who was revealed to be Kelbris. The Father had killed Jadusable moments after the ending of ''The Haunted Cartridge'' arc, a moment shown in upload Kelbris.wmv. (Another unreleased video, CHILDREN.wmv, was also released around this point in time.) An as-of-yet unexplained event that occurred in 2012 apparently had global repercussions, leading to a modern-day
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
resulting in a total breakdown of American society by 2018. Addressing the follower, dubbed "The Second Player" (alternatively "The Main Character", or simply "The MC"), Jadus claims a partial cause of this collapse as being a mysterious virus known as "HEROES", of which they are a survivor, alongside their occupational partner, Denton. The player is a prisoner in the mysterious Ethereal Hotel, through which he is guided by
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
by another survivor, Abel, avoiding a gas mask-wearing entity known as "The Jailer", as they roam the halls. The Jailer kills him, and control is passed over to another person, named Sarah. She decides to stay and wait for a bit and is rewarded for doing so. Now in possession of a Nintendo 64, Sarah subsequently encounters the seemingly benevolent spirit of the original Ben within the original Nintendo 64 cartridge for whom she plays the ''Song of Healing'', which in-game is used to mend broken souls. Now healed, Ben explains that after Jadusable awakened The Father, he remained within the cartridge, tormenting Ben and the litany of souls he had been manipulating into imprisoning in BEN, including Jadusable and Rosa. Eventually, the souls were forced to flee deep within the code of the cartridge, which in turn caused glitches to render the game unplayable. Ben begs her to heal the souls BEN has left to The Father's mercy, before granting her Link's adult form from ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''. The "Adult Mask", he explains, contains the souls of a large number of people, all seeking revenge against The Father. She then plays the Song of Time, sending her back to the normal yet altered ''Majora's Mask'' gameplay from ten years ago. After this, an overjoyed Abel resumes communication with Sarah and muses over the interaction. He then claims that the game has been reverted to its pre-Jadusable state and that BEN — which he explains to be the ''Behavioral Event Network'' — is a hive mind consisting of both the souls of Moon Children who have been successfully digitized and of various artificially intelligent programs from ''Majora's Mask'' which he believes gained
sentience Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations. It may not necessarily imply higher cognitive functions such as awareness, reasoning, or complex thought processes. Some writers define sentience exclusively as the capacity for ''v ...
either from a lack of input or by a trigger, with the entity being named after the original Ben as a tribute, due to their soul having been the first human soul to have been successfully digitized. He ends his monologue and then says Sarah's part in the experiment is over, explaining he will be "coming over" to relieve her of the cartridge, before suggesting she 'stick around' to see other things he wants to show her. Despite Abel's request, Sarah continues playing the game. In place of the Happy Mask Salesman, she finds Ifrit in the form of an unused NPC, who tells her that Ben has been "restored" into his enslaved state, and that she needs to disrupt the simulation or replicate the same "fourth-day" glitch that freed Ben to defeat the Father. When she exits the area, she is suddenly confronted by two duplicates of the first boss of ''Majora's Mask'', which she easily dispenses before continuing deeper into the game. Sarah eventually encounters a Moon Child, who asks her to leave its "home". When she pursues it, she finds in its place a heart, which she collects. Ifrit then contacts her, saying she must collect three hearts to free the souls trapped within the cartridge. Progressing further, she is confronted by several more Moon Children, who are seen apparently tormenting another NPC. After thwarting their attack, Sarah encounters this NPC, who now claims to be Rosa, who, as thanks, gives her a pendant containing her memories, which she claims will be able to free the others. She continues onwards, finding a second Moon Child's heart and encountering another NPC who "knows exactly who he is" and thinks of Sarah as a monster, due to all the souls contained in the mask making her seem like a monster consuming them. On August 23, 2020, a new video called ''The Showdown.wmv'' premiered, the contents giving another revelation to the story. Sarah, after escaping the clutches of one of the Moon Children, meets the once thought dead Jadusable, the original player from the ''Haunted Cartridge'' arc. Dismayed, Jadusable is discovered to be now working with The Father, and after facing Sarah in one-on-one combat, kills her, leaving the story without a player character. The same video at the end shows a link to a new site called the ''Eternity Project'', a web page established by those who belong to a group of people called The Family with the purpose of achieving ascension to escape the world-ending event due to happen in 2020. On that website, users were able to confirm the current status of many of the characters from the entire story, such as Sarah, Jadusable, and Rosa. The site promises prospective members to join the ''Eternity Project'' and to escape from the hell of the current world and embrace a new future through ascension, becoming Enlightened and free from the world. As is the tradition in sites belonging to this story, members could dig into source codes and puzzle-solving to discover hidden messages and pages. Here, Abel eventually contacted players (or rather, a "pity hire" at the Eternity Project) and gave them passwords allowing access to the 'heart' of World Alpha - now known to be the Haunted Cartridge, which all of the Eternity Project's subsequent virtual worlds are apparently built off of. Here, players were met with an option to upload "code" directly into the heart of World Alpha — an action which Abel hoped would stop the virtual world from imploding, along with the rest of the Eternity Project and everyone still trapped within. Eventually, one of the players' uploads was accepted, and the option to upload anything further disappeared. The uploaded code would successfully revive Sarah in Clock Town, albeit without the Ocarina of Time or the Adult form she previously had, with only 12 in-game hours remaining before the Moon would crash into Termina and start the entire game over again. Noticing that Clock Town is empty, she attempts to enter the buildings in the area, but all but one are inaccessible. Upon entering this building, Sarah finds herself in the code with Rosa and the rest of the humans digitized into Majora's Mask. They argue over whether to let the Moon fall and just reset everything, which Rosa believes will not result in what the rest expect it to, or to allow Sarah to perform the day four glitch, at the risk of unleashing the already looming Father all over again. Ultimately, Sarah races to the Observatory and prepares to perform the glitch; however, the choice to actually do it is left up to the players. The players chose to perform the glitch, and after having done so, the world returns to a glitched state. Ifrit suddenly reappears and explains that by doing the glitch, she has killed the game's inhabitants and that with the Father freed once more, he intends to use his power to transform the world into a "nightmare". Clock Town becomes filled with cultic worshippers of the Father as Sarah runs to the clock tower, where she finds Jadusable and a newly freed Ben hiding. Jadusable explains that he was trying to stop Sarah from performing the glitch, and admonishes her for simply believing everything that the game's inhabitants had told her. He explains that Alex had passed the responsibility of being World Alpha's protector to him, and that now, he was going to do the same to her. Jadusable gives up his soul and joins his strength with Sarah, turning her back into Adult Link. Sarah confronts Ifrit, now joined by the last remaining Moon Child, and briefly battles the latter as it assumes the form of Majora's Wrath — the third phase of the final boss of ''Majora's Mask''. Suddenly, instead of fighting back, Sarah uses her ocarina to play the Song of Healing, and Majora's Wrath suddenly disappears. Ifrit briefly reappears to threaten her, but he is suddenly overcome with static and disappears. The Father appears in his place, demanding that Sarah explain her actions. In response, she gives him the Pendant of Memories, and Circle explains that the inhabitants of World Alpha are just scared and only want to live. In response, The Father 'changes his parameters' to heal World Alpha by removing all "anomalies" that wish to harm the natural order of the world. He also explains that, as users interfacing with World Alpha's code, they too will be removed, and that to pacify the inhabitants' mental traumas, he will need to reset their memories as well. Above all, The Father assures Sarah and Circle that World Alpha will continue and that Ben will be given a real host body, commenting that his imprisonment within the Elegy statue was an "oversight" made by dated A.I. When Circle asks what will become of Sarah after The Father 'removes' her, he says he doesn't know and fades away. Sarah fades away soon after. The series ends with a shot of Ben, now in the body of Child Link, standing next to a now unpossessed Elegy statue and waving to the audience.


Reception

''Ben Drowned'' has received favorable reviews. It received substantial attention following a favorable review by ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' writer Owen Good roughly two months into publication, who praised the story's themes and originality. Readership quadrupled following this article, and again by its followup in 2017 while the story was in its first hiatus, in which its
biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
themes and use of the
five stages of grief According to the model of the five stages of grief, or the Kübler-Ross model, those experiencing sudden grief following an abrupt realization (shock) go through five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Critics of t ...
and " ghost within the machine" trope were praised, as was Hall's initial decision to end the narrative with an
April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...
joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...
in 2012. The series has been favorably compared to the similarly popular creepypasta series '' Marble Hornets''. Liam Conlon of ''Vice'', comparing ''Ben Drowned'' to both ''Majora's Mask'' and '' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'', referred to it as "a shining example of how ''Zelda'' fans have always been in lockstep with Nintendo's own experimentation with horror. einga well-told story", as well as praising its unique take on the found footage genre. Anthony Vigna of ''Nintendojo'' praised the "videos to back up its claims and provided blog updates that pushed the tale to be more believable", calling ''Majora's Mask'' "the perfect game to create the setting of a scary story", with the ARG elements of the story praised as being highly addictive. Ryan Larson of
Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...
praised how "with clever video editing skills and a deep wealth of knowledge, the online user Jadusable is able to craft one of the scariest legends of recent memory. Like storytellers before him, using paintings or ink to craft the tale, he uses the devices of our advanced time to make something that the kids of the nineties can latch onto." Kara Dennison of ''Fanbyte'', speaking of ''Ben Drowned'' in context of the 20th anniversary of ''Majora's Mask'', praised "what Hall did during this time sboth unique and effective. He took a concept that was already gaining steam and gave it a reality it was lacking. Creepypastas about
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
and ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' were already poking at people's childhoods, occasionally with attempts at "haunted tapes" to back the stories up. But ''BEN Drowned'' brought a level of realism to its story that had yet to be accomplished in other attempts.", additionally citing how it was stated as the primary inspiration for later popular works such as '' Petscop'' by Tony Domenico, and concluding that of creepypasta, " t'shighly likely ''BEN Drowned'' will remain the best of its kind." Blogger Robbie Blair discussed ''Ben Drowned'' within the context of the increasing popularity of web serials and
alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by int ...
s such as ''Worm''. In September 2014,
concept art Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in film, video games, animation, comic books, television shows, or other media before it is put into the final product. The term was used by the Walt Disney Animation Studios ...
for the episode " Soos and the Real Girl" of ''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...
'' revealed ''Ben Drowned'' as a primary influence behind the character GIFfany; themselves an inspiration for the ''
Doki Doki Literature Club! ''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''DDLC'') is a 2017 visual novel video game developed by Team Salvato for Personal computer, personal computers. The story follows a student who reluctantly joins his high school's literat ...
'' character Monika.
Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...
and
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
have approached Hall to discuss adapting ''Ben Drowned''. An
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
adaptation of the series titled ''Darkland: Ben Drowned'', produced by
Mind's Eye Entertainment Minds Eye Entertainment is a Canadian film and television production and film distributor, distribution company headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company produces television and film projects in Canada and the United States as we ...
and starring Jonny Clarke, began filming in 2015, but ultimately was not completed. In August 2016, a press release for Syfy's '' Channel Zero'' referenced ''Ben Drowned'' as one of the urban legends that would form the basis for a future season; ultimately, the series was cancelled after its fourth season.


Themes

Eric Van Allen of entertainment site ''Kotaku'' on the place of ''Ben Drowned'' in the developing creepypasta and emergence into
urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...
:
''Ben Drowned'' persists. The Elegy statue has become permanently linked to the story of Jadusable and his haunted cartridge, a copy of ''Majora's Mask'' that inspired nightmares of masks being sewn to faces and terrible, terrible fates. ''Ben Drowned'' lives by the virtual firelight, as each new whisper, tweet, or forum post sends chills down a new reader's spine. Creepypastas are the ghost stories of the digital age, changing with each retelling and reimagining from its fandom. Though ''Ben Drowned'' owes its legacy to Hall, its future lies in the hands of anyone who might take to their keyboard to add a new page.
The originally unofficial title ''Ben Drowned'' has multiple potential meanings. It has been connected to the protagonist's character development, the fate of the child Ben and the subsequently created omnipresent force BEN; drawing a parallel with the power of the Moon Children cult to control the actions of one's
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
in the eyes of
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...
and the
tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...
of the ocean. The arc titles also generally have double meanings. Several reviewers have described the serial as an exercise in repeatedly escalating the stakes of the story, with a number of reviewers having noted the characters' ingenuity, and the original and creative use of
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
and ''
The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...
''
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
in the narrative. The series received renewed focus in 2016, when 12-year-old Katelyn Davis, who had recently committed suicide, was cited as having been catfished by a user embodying the BEN persona from ''Ben Drowned'', after which a statement in reference to the end of their relationship was accompanied by a piece of
fanart Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction or celebrity depicting events, character, or other aspect of the work. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are not created, commissioned, nor endorsed by the creator ...
of the character in their later form of a Link with blood-red eyes beckoning a violet fairy. Addressing their death in relation to his series, Hall stated himself:For the sequel ''Awakening'' in 2020, Hall incorporated machine-learning programs to create artwork and music for his story, going so far as to have the titular villain - which was itself an in-universe AI construct - created entirely by artificial intelligence using Artbreeder. Hall expressed enthusiasm for these emerging AI tools, citing that they could expand the possibilities available to independent creators, but urged caution that these tools would quickly render many artists/creators obsolete.


References


External links

*
''Methods of Revolution''''Eternity Project''
{{The Legend of Zelda Novels first published online American horror web series Fictional cults Novels first published in serial form 2010s science fiction novels 2010s horror novels Creepypasta Alternate history novels Alternate reality games Debut science fiction novels Debut horror novels 2010 debut novels Self-published books Internet memes introduced in 2010 Self-reflexive works Internet meme characters