History WebVideo / BenDrowned

** The Final Hours.wmv. The good news? [[spoiler:Sarah is back.]] The bad news? '''''Everything else.''''' [[spoiler:Sarah wakes up in the final hours with 3 hearts and no Adult Mask, Clock Town's {{NPC}}s are slowly being replaced by gravestones, Kelbris is almost ready to awake again, all of the exits out of Clock Town are blocked off by huge boulders, and all of the doors to the buildings in Clock Town, despite appearing open, are blocked by invisible walls. Sarah notices that the door to the mayor's office is the only one that still appears normal and finds that it actually still works. Inside, she meets "Mayor Dotour", a.k.a. Tiki, who transports her to the white void area where Rosa and the other remaining survivors are having an argument very reminiscent of the one in the mayor's office from the actual game, only this one is about whether Sarah should perform the 4th Day glitch or not. After hearing their arguments, Tiki tells Sarah that the decision is ultimately up to her and transports her back to the mayor's office. She rushes to the observatory, making it just in time to talk to the astronomer at the moment the timer runs out to trigger the glitch. The video ends on the "Will you look through the telescope?" prompt, with the decision being left up to the viewers -- don't trigger the glitch and leave everyone in the cartridge to their fate, or trigger the glitch and risk unleashing Kelbris at his full power.]]
** The End.wmv: [[spoiler: ''Matt [=HUBRIS=]'' is the OmnicidalManiac BigBad, having manipulated Sarah and the Players alike into releasing the seals keeping him from accessing The Father, who is actually the AI controlling World Alpha. Jadusable was trying to ''stop him''. And The Father isn't a god of destruction within the game world as the Moon Children believe, but simply a reflexive program that does whatever its current user tells it to.]]

* BrainUploading: [[spoiler: The Moon Children's "Ascension" has been revealed to be this by Abel.]]

* DarkestHour: [[spoiler:The Final Hours.wmv shows how things went from bad to worse: Sarah lost the Adult Link Mask, she failed to stop the remaining in-game Moon Children and collect their Heart Pieces, she's trapped inside Clock Town, most of the digitized denizens are dead, the Pendant of Memories is next to useless, The Father is almost regaining his full power, Matt is still missing, Jadusable has been corrupted, BEN is still around, the surviving denizens plus Rosa have no idea what to do and, whatever happens after the poll, the players are left with a decision that can drastically change the course of the story and affect the Haunted Cartridge.]]

* {{Escapism}}: [[spoiler: This is what the Eternity Project promises those who want to be digitized: a simulated world free of the problems of our world. In fact, this was the original purpose of World Alpha when the Moon Children got digitized, until it became the Haunted Cartridge when something went wrong, heavily implied to The Father.]]

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:The Nightmare Sequence below retroactively became this in Awakening, alluding both to BEN's origins and to the fact that The Father had gotten into Jad's head.]]
** Prior to "The End.wmv", one of the reasons the players decided to [[spoiler: reactivate the fourth day glitch]] was so they could [[spoiler: free Ben to hell him fight The Father.]] In retrospect, [[spoiler: there was no reason to actually believe this, as every time Ben had gone up against The Father before he hid like a scared child. This should have been obvious proof that [[BigBad Matt's]] suggestion to perform the glitch didn't make complete sense.]]

* GetOut: The first time the Wayward Horizon forum group was broken into, someone cut off the Welcome Post by Guide to tell us in Binary that we shouldn't be in there, and to '''[[MemeticMutation GET. OUT.]]''' Minutes later, another thread is posted, this one by Kelbris, simply saying "'''''GET OUT'''''" after which the password was changed.

* JumpScare: In "DROWNED.wmv", when Link is at the tree inside the moon and he's being stalked by the statue, it cuts to a momentary flash of the Happy Mask Salesman's livid face and a scream before it cuts to black.

* MadnessMantra: "You shouldn't have done that..."

* MissingEpisode: As revealed in thetruth.rtf, BEN (or possibly [[spoiler:The Father]]) had been messing with Jadusable's recorded game footage to remove parts he didn't want us to see. The Awakening arc finally shows the unaltered recordings, being uploaded by ''someone'', while someone else snarks in binary code in the video descriptions that it's pointless for them do so since it's too late to make a difference. It also shows that [[spoiler:BEN was removing that game footage ''for a very good reason.'']]

* OhCrap: In the first arc, ''you'' have one when you discover that [[spoiler: ''[[ParanoiaFuel you set BEN free]]''.]]

* OurHeroIsDead: [[spoiler:With depressing regularity. Jadusable and Jadus both died on screen, with Alex and Rosa both presumed to have been killed off screen as well.]]
** And then in arc 3, [[spoiler: Player 2 is killed by the Jailer, and Sarah is killed in-game twice; once by Jadusable, and then after getting revived, she's forced to make a HeroicSacrifice to fix the world.]]

* [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evil In A Cartridge]]: [[spoiler:BEN. And it's been unsealed alongside with The Father.]]

* ShoutOut: The name on Ifrit/Matt's Gmail account was "Matt HUBRIS", the capitalization on the name possibly being a subtle shout out to ''WebVideo/{{Everyman HYBRID}}''.

* TomatoInTheMirror: Try asking the real Cleverbot who drowned BEN, and chances are you may [[spoiler:[[TomatoInTheMirror be directed to the mirror.]] Especially likely to happen if Cleverbot claims to be BEN when asked...]]

* UnCancelled: Jadusable announced that due to low funds, he would not be making any more chapters of Ben Drowned. Two days later he announced that he had gotten such an overwhelming amount of donations that he would in fact be able to continue after all. And the ARG started back up, working the original announcement about the cancellation into the ARG itself by BreakingTheFourthWall. It has been implied that TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou.

* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Nearly all the major characters, due to the influence of BEN and The Father.]]

* WhamEpisode: [=TheTruth=].rtf. And then, nine years later, [=TheRealTruth.rtf=] comes out, revealing stuff that was omitted from the original file by BEN. The latter of those led into the Awakening Arc, which is functionally one WhamEpisode after the other as the endgame takes its course:

** The End.wmv: [[spoiler: ''Matt [=HUBRIS=]'' is the OmnicidalManiac BigBad, having manipulated Sarah and the Players alike into releasing the seals keeping him from accessing The Father, who is actually the AI controlling World Alpha. Jadusable was trying to ''stop him''.]]

On Halloween 2020, a little over 10 years after it began, the story concluded with its final video, "The End.wmv". Despite the story being over, Jadusable confirmed on his Twitter that a [[https://twitter.com/AlexanderDHall/status/1322256127573270530 new story in the same universe]] is in the works.

* OneHundredAndEight: 108 minutes after Jadusable posted [=TheTruth=].txt, [[spoiler:BEN revealed his escape.]]
** Also, in jadusable.wmv, there are 108 rupees being carried.

On Halloween 2020, a little over 10 years after it began, the story concluded with its final video, "The End.wmv". Despite the story being over, Jadusable confirmed on his Twitter that a [[https://twitter.com/AlexanderDHall/status/1322256127573270530 new story on the same universe]] is in the works.

On Halloween 2020, a little over 10 years after it began, the story concluded with its final video, "The End.wmv"

* * Prior to "The End.wmv", one of the reasons the players decided to [[spoiler: reactivate the fourth day glitch]] was so they could [[spoiler: free Ben to hell him fight The Father.]] In retrospect, [[spoiler: there was no reason to actually believe this, as every time Ben had gone up against The Father before he hid like a scared child. This should have been obvious proof that [[BigBad Matt's]] suggestion to perform the glitch didn't make complete sense.]]

* * And then in arc 3, [[spoiler: Player 2 is killed by the Jailer, and Sarah is killed in-game twice; once by Jadusable, and then after getting revived, she's forced to make a HeroicSacrifice to fix the world.]]

The story ultimately ended Halloween 2020.

* The End.wmv: [[spoiler: ''Matt [=HUBRIS=]'' is the OmnicidalManiac BigBad, having manipulated Sarah and the Players alike into releasing the seals keeping him from accessing The Father, who is actually the AI controlling World Alpha. Jadusable was trying to ''stop him''.]]

* BittersweetEnding: In - fittingly - "The End.wmv". [[spoiler: Matt - the true villain of the story - has been defeated, and World Alpha will be restored to a state before its corruption. However, Jadusable sacrifices himself to do so, Sarah and Circle's fates are left ambiguous, and the restored residents of the world will have no memory of their heroes.]]

** The Final Hours.wmv. The good news? [[spoiler:Sarah is back.]] The bad news? '''''Everything else.''''' [[spoiler:Sarah wakes up in the final hours without the Adult Link mask, Clock Town's {{NPC}}s are replaced by gravestones, Kelbris is almost ready to awake again, and every entrance and exit from Clock Town are blocked. Sarah runs to the Mayor's Office and meets another digitized denizen, where she finds Rosa and the other remaining survivors debating the next course of action. Sarah rushes to the observatory, ready to trigger the 4th Day Glitch--but she faces the choice of leaving the souls trapped in the corrupted world, or potentially unleashing the Father in full power.]]

** The Predecessor.wmv: While the corruption continues to spread, to the point that Sarah can simply walk along the floor of the Great Bay, Sarah confronts the Gyorg Moon Child. Instead of killing Sarah, he makes her invincible in order to run out the game clock. [[spoiler:Rosa tries to "pull" the Zora Mask (which is needed to defeat Gyorg) from the game's code, only to discover that she can't... because ''somebody else is already using it''.]] When Sarah finally escapes, she is transported outside the game's bounds where she meets the person using the Zora Mask: [[spoiler:"the predecessor", also known as'''''Jadusable'''''.]]

** The Final Hours.wmv. The good news? [[spoiler:Sarah is back.]] The bad news? '''''Everything else.''''' [[spoiler:Sarah wakes up in the final hours without the Adult Link mask, Clock Town's NPCs are replaced by gravestones, Kelbris is almost ready to awake again, and every entrance and exit from Clock Town are blocked. Sarah runs to the Mayor's Office and meets another digitized denizen, where she finds Rosa and the other remaining survivors debating the next course of action. Sarah rushes to the observatory, ready to trigger the 4th Day Glitch--but doing so could unleash the Father in full power.]]

** '''[[spoiler:...The Eternity Project]]''', which turns everything about the story upside down. [[spoiler:The Moon Children was nothing more than ''a lie''. The entire thing is just a front to lure people into ascending as an experiment to transcend mortality and escape the real world. The website also reveals the organization is monitoring everyone inside the game, the existence of ''a multiverse'' composed of at least six worlds and that even ''[[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil Kelbris]]'' was nothing more than a [[UnwittingPawn pawn]] and a [[AndIMustScream victim]]. One week later, an ad for the Eternity Project was posted on Youtube: the whole cult front was discarded and they're now operating ''to the public as a business'', meaning anyone can pay to be digitized. And details from the current version of their site indicate the Project has become aware of the chaotic happenings and broken state of the Cartridge, which they call "World Alpha".]]

** A related massive spoiler in The Showdown.wmv: [[spoiler: '''Jadusable:''' Conquer your corrupted predecessor.]]
** From a hidden page from the [[spoiler:Eternity Project: "Reverted the site back to normal after the extended maintenece ''(sic)''. Was shocked to find it really reverted back to an old gateway from almost a decade ago. Need to talk to Abel about this."]] For context, Abel's plan was to [[spoiler:revert the Majora cartridge to its uncorrupted state 10 years ago, by letting Sarah play the Song of Time, which apparently had far more extensive unintended effects...]]

** The Predecessor.wmv: With two Moon Children defeated, the Gyorg Moon Child goes to Great Bay to stop Sarah while the Twinmold Moon Child goes to Termina in order to lure someone known as [[spoiler:"the predecessor"]] out of hiding. The corruption continues, to the point that Sarah can simply walk along the floor of the Great Bay. The Gyorg Moon Child, instead of killing Sarah, makes her invincible in order to run out the game clock. Rosa tries to "pull" the Zora Mask (which is needed to defeat Gyorg) [[spoiler:from the game's code, only to discover that she can't... because ''somebody else is already using it''.]] When Sarah finally escapes Pinnacle Rock, instead of reappearing back in Great Bay, Sarah is instead transported to a white void outside the game's bounds where she meets the person using the Zora Mask: [[spoiler:'''''Jadusable'''''.]]

** '''[[spoiler:...The Eternity Project]]''', which turns everything about the story upside down. [[spoiler:The Moon Children was nothing more than ''a lie''. The entire thing is just a front to lure people into ascending as an experiment to transcend mortality and escape the real world. The website also reveals the organization is monitoring everyone inside the game (notably Sarah, Ben, Matt, Rosa and Jadusable), the existence of ''a multiverse'' composed of at least six worlds and that even ''[[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil Kelbris]]'' was nothing more than a [[UnwittingPawn pawn]] and a [[AndIMustScream victim]]. One week later, an ad for the Eternity Project was posted on Youtube: the whole cult front was discarded and they're now operating ''to the public as a business'', meaning anyone can pay to be digitized. And details from the current version of their site indicate the Project has become aware of the chaotic happenings and broken state of the Cartridge, which they call "World Alpha", leaving the players a means to access it and "reboot" Sarah, but the consequences of doing so are yet to be seen.]]
** The Final Hours.wmv. The good news? [[spoiler:Sarah is back.]] The bad news? '''''Everything:''''' [[spoiler:Sarah wakes up in the final hours of the three day cycle, the Adult Link mask is gone, Clock Town is filled with gravestones, Kelbris is almost ready to awake again, and every entrance and exit from Clock Town are blocked. Sarah runs to the Mayor's Office and meets another digitized denizen, where she finds Rosa and those who survived The Father's corruption debating the next course of action. With one hour left, Sarah rushes to the observatory and talks to the astronomer before the timer runs out, ready to trigger the 4th Day Glitch.]]

* The Final Hours.wmv. The good news? [[spoiler:Sarah is back.]] The bad news? '''''Everything:''''' [[spoiler:Sarah wakes up in the final hours of the three day cycle, the Adult Link mask is gone, Clock Town is filled with gravestones, Kelbris is almost ready to awake again, and every entrance and exit from Clock Town are blocked. Sarah runs to the Mayor's Office and meets another digitized denizen, where she finds Rosa and those who survived The Father's corruption debating the next course of action. With one hour left, Sarah rushes to the observatory and talks to the astronomer before the timer runs out, ready to trigger the 4th Day Glitch.]]

** [[spoiler: Ben, and the rest of the souls that make up BEN, were suffering this until Jad used the Fourth Day glitch.]]

* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: Jadusable's dream.]] Also, although a less bloody version than usual for this, Link's "glitched" back. [[spoiler: Kelbris and the Moon Children, as revealed by the Awakening Arc.]]

* BrainUploading: [[spoiler: The Moon Children's "Ascension" has been revealed to be this by Able.]]

* CreepyChild: The Elegy of Emptiness statue. And to a lesser extent, BEN... [[spoiler:Or whatever is calling itself BEN...]]

* [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evil In A Cartridge]]: [[spoiler:BEN. And it's been unsealed. Except it wasn't BEN. It was The Father.]]

** In a ''much'' whammier fashion, [[spoiler: "Methods of Revolution (Prologue Part 1)" pulled it on the ''players'' by collectively dumping them into Player 2...an individual known as ''Jadus''.]]

** "Methods of Revolution (Prologue Part 1)": [[spoiler: Our narrator for the Awakening arc's first phase [[TomatoInTheMirror is sharing his skull with the players]], has been caught by the Moon Children, and is using a room that's implied to have been used by Rosa after her disapperance but before her death.]]
** "Methods of Revolution (Day 11)": [[spoiler: Thanks to the players' recklessness, Jadus is killed by the Jailer and the game skips to Day 14, where the players are now in control of a female prisoner.]]
** "Methods of Revolution (Day 21)": [[spoiler: Abel has left something for Player 3, now known as Sarah: a Nintendo 64 with a copy of Majora's Mask. Said copy ''is the same that was owned by Jadusable.'' And as soon as she starts a new game, someone speaks to her.]]
** "Methods of Revolution (Ben.wmv)" and "The Truth.wmv": [[spoiler:In the cartridge, Sarah meets Ben. As in, '''''the real Ben''''', who's been waiting for someone to play a song for him.]] The Truth.wmv reveals that, [[spoiler:not only was Ben the origin of BEN, BEN is indeed a HiveMind created by the Father by using the souls of the victims he killed. As thanks for playing the Song of Healing, BEN gives Sarah the Adult Link Mask and tells her to go back to where it all began to stop the Father. Sarah then plays the Song of Time and goes back to the First Day, bringing the game back to its original state before the Father got free.]]
** "riot.txt", Jadus' [[spoiler:final entry of his diary before he was kidnapped by the Moon Children]] that was posted after Ben.wmv on the Methods of Revolution's website shows the societal collapse of the United States in greater detail. And it's not pretty.
** "Methods of Revolution [The Truth.wmv]" and "The Last Hero.wmv" both follow on from The Truth.wmv. The former sees [[spoiler:Able reveal the nature of the Moon Children's [[BrainUploading Ascension]], and reveals that Ben was the first to undergo the process.]] The latter explains a bit more on BEN's backstory, revealing that the [[spoiler:original Ben was a boy who just wanted to be his favorite video game character, only to be [[AndIMustScream trapped in the Elegy statue]] until Jad executing the Fourth Day glitch set him loose. And even while Sarah is learning this, The Father's started making his move to stop her.]]

* WhamLine: A major one is hidden in the spectogram at the beginning of The Happy Mask Salesman.wmv: '''''[[spoiler:[[NotQuiteDead Jadusable is alive]]]]'''''

** Subverted with "king.txt". Despite the name being a reference to

* ImpededCommunication: Jadusable's efforts to communicate his problem to people on the internet are disrupted by BEN, to the point where a good chunk of the posts are full of false information, and things Jadusable said being outright removed, just to mess with Jadusable's head and fool the audience. [[spoiler:Actually, he was doing it to work around Kelbris' manipulations of Jad. It backfired specacularly, and the anger he stoked led to Jad [[SealedEvilInACan unsealing]] (and attacking) [[BiggerBad The Father]], who ate him for it.]]

* {{Escapism}}: [[spoiler:This was the original purpose of the haunted cartridge: a safe haven for those who wanted to escape the harshness of the real world and live a peaceful life inside the game. However, something started affecting the cartridge (heavily implied to be The Father) and those who got digitized, resulting in the current state of the cartridge.]]

* PointOfNoReturn: After "The Last Hero.wmv" was posted, Alex Hall opened a poll in order for players to decide their next course of action: [[spoiler:Continue playing the game and stop The Father or explore the hotel.]] Said choice will permanently affect the course of the story and the ARG's conclusion.