Moon Children (arc)
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Moon Children Arc
File 30, Kelbris.jpg
| Written by | Alex Hall (YSHDT and Hubris) Kayd Hendricks (Ryukaki) |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 17, 2010 to July 15, 2011 |
| Protagonist | Alex (YSHDT) Players (Hubris) |
| Videos | fj6rt InvertedSongOfTime.MOV NEWWAVEBOSSANOVA.MP4 songofhealing.asf Saviour.wmv songoftime ... SAVING ALEX.MP4 continue Sonata huntyoudown.wmv Sounds.wmv Music.wmv The Orchard.wmv Orchard2.wmv theconnection.wmv lastwords.wmv 2 h b i s r ea l |
| Websites | youshouldnthavedonethat.net Within Hubris HubrisOST |
| Documents | FSZTKU.txt TheLie.txt TheTruth.txt mhftt.txt Fate.txt Newspaper Letter |
The Moon Children Arc is the second arc of Ben Drowned. This arc contains two main parts, titled YSHDT and Hubris.
YSHDT (short for youshouldnthavedonethat) follows the discovery of a mysterious cult, who are revealed to sacrifice members to their deity in a ritual called ascension. Hubris follows a series of odd messages leading up to the introduction of a new forum containing many secrets.
It is preceded by the Haunted Cartridge Arc, and followed by the Awakening Arc.
The following is a summary of the Moon Children Arc, in chronological order of the events as they happened. Out-of-character events are in italics. All times are in EST. To see each page exactly as described, click the 
icon for each update. Several links in this article no longer work due to websites being changed or shut down. Some of the pages have been saved via the Wayback Machine, and are linked instead; the links that do not work are kept here for archival purposes.
Contents
- 1 YSHDT
- 2 Hubris
- 3 The Hiatus
YSHDT
The First Cycle
September 17, 2010
- Multiple coded messages were posted on Jadusable's Recent Activity log on YouTube. The following are each cipher and their translations:
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Jadusable YouTube Ciphers
Cipher #1: MBXIRMBLRH.PXTEENLDHGBZAMBPPXNTKTFTLDLHFXMBFXL.DXHNPABLIXKKXRXLIXXEXWYHKWHGMWXK,FHMAXK,PAT
ZHHWENVD.
- Solution: WE ALL WEAR A MASK, SOMETIMES. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED - MOTHER, I WONDER WHAT IT IS YOU WHISPER FOR DUSK TONIGHT. GOOD LUCK.
Cipher #2: .DUJ
- Solution: .NET
Cipher #3: YMNSP.
- Solution: THINK.
Cipher #4: .JAP EO UKQN KJHU YHQA
- .NET IS YOUR ONLY CLUE
Cipher #5: YKKG://NNN.JYFNVH.EVK/WFILDJ/RITYZMV/ZEUVO.GYG/K-3355.YKDC
- The fifth code, once solved, directed us to an old tech support forum. Two aspects of the website stood out: The .net structure of the link and the phrase, "You shouldn't have done that," found in response to a question.
- When combined, the hints lead to a new website: youshouldnthavedonethat.net
- The website belongs to a cult called the Moon Children. It contained a simple layout with seven tabs: Home, Creed, About, Theories, Contact Us (with a Press Room sub-page), The Truth, and Search.
- The home page acted as a forum for various moderators of the cult, and the conversations listed indicated that they were still in the process of setting up the website, whose primary use appears to be updates and communication.
- A moderator called Ifrit welcomes members to the site, and describes various technical changes over several posts.
- Another mod, Nekko, describes his excitement for his upcoming ascension.
- Duskworld23 congratulates Nekko on his successful ascension, noting he was the youngest to ever ascend without incident. However, he warns not to make Mr. D upset. It is unknown who Mr. D is.
- The administrator, DROWNED, posts a message that seems to be directed at visitors: "You shouldn't be reading this." This member is suspected to be Mr. D. When the cursor is moved over his avatar, it changes to a cropped image of the Elegy of Emptiness statue.
- Several posts on in the guestbook area seem to be from regular members of the cult. Among these messages were a reference to a "blackout" and questions as to where Alex is, two users planning to execute a mass shooting, and requests to take a look at the broken Contact page.
- This reference to Alex calls back to Jadusable's second video, in which the protagonist of the game is called Alex after a blackout.
- Creed explained various ceremonial chants, and revealed that masks are a part of their rituals.
- About listed the four active moderators, including their likes and dislikes, as well as personal information. Email addresses were not included.
- In the special thanks list, a user named Rosa is mentioned. This member's name is shared with the title character in Jadusable's first video, where she cryptically predicts the future. Tags in this video make reference to the current events.
- Theories contained apocalypse theories. The Moon Children's goal seems to be to bring about the end of the world.
- Among the otherwise non-noteworthy theories was an original one involving a Moon Child named Kelbris. According to the lore on the page, Kelbris was the first Moon Child to have been spoken to by Luna herself. Kelbris was said to have been found electrocuted, but whether he was murdered or ascended was never determined.
- Contact Us contained a form that, when filled out with the indicated information, would be sent to the moderators, who would then set up recruitment appointments.
- The Contact Us page turned out to not be broken as was implied before, but users began finding hidden contact pages for individual people.
- BEN's page was the first to be found, which contained a countdown to "The Fourth Day," which was set to end sometime the next day. The music on this page was the reversed and sped-up Happy Mask Salesman theme from BEN.wmv.
- DROWNED's page was the next to be found. It contained an image of a large green man, along with the text, "Dead End. Go back." The title of the page was a cipher that read, "EQ WQWK... LZWQ LGGC... EQ WQWK..." This translates to, "MY EYES... THEY TOOK... MY EYES..." The image is titled Kelbris.jpg.
- BEN's page was the first to be found, which contained a countdown to "The Fourth Day," which was set to end sometime the next day. The music on this page was the reversed and sped-up Happy Mask Salesman theme from BEN.wmv.
- The Contact Us page turned out to not be broken as was implied before, but users began finding hidden contact pages for individual people.
- The Truth was password-protected, and contained only a login screen. The source code for the page also contained the text, "It's what they DON'T want you to know." The login information was not received in time to see what this page contained.
- Search was simply a page that allowed you to search the website for contents, though it linked (possibly via the banner) to the Press Room page.
- The banner on this page's image properties contained the text, "Do you honestly think you can escape me?"
- Hidden text on the Press Room page was found: "Like little lambs. The man is smiling."
- Clicking "Launch!" would lead to the Blastoff! page, which mostly contained lorem ipsum text. In the About Us section, the phrase "for the fold, number three" was repeated three times.
- Clicking "Launch!" would lead to the Blastoff! page, which mostly contained lorem ipsum text. In the About Us section, the phrase "for the fold, number three" was repeated three times.
- The home page acted as a forum for various moderators of the cult, and the conversations listed indicated that they were still in the process of setting up the website, whose primary use appears to be updates and communication.
- Up to and beyond this point, references to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask were being found.
- The first was the most blatant: the cult was devoted to the moon. There were children residing within the moon in the game.
- There was a small graphic of Majora's Mask on the bookmark icon.
- The banner images at the top of the different pages were references to areas in Majora's Mask: Swamp, Mountain, Sea, Canyon, City, and Apocalypse.
September 18, 2010
- Two hours before the countdown was set to end, users found Ifrit's contact page. The text read, "Should you know what question to ask, the gate to truth will be opened." His email, ifritmoon@gmail.com, was presented in hidden text. Users began emailing him, hoping for information. The following information was obtained.
- Ben was a member of the cult, and had ascended; however, his body was never found.
- Rosa is Ifrit's sister.
- Ifrit refers to Ben as his brother, though it's not clear whether it was meant literally.
- Ifrit could not reach the contact pages found, and would receive a 404 error when attempting to.
- Alex has been missing since the "blackout," as mentioned in the Guestbook.
- Those asking him what Majora's Mask had to do with the situation were told, "Nothing, why?"
- Ifrit's real name on the About page is listed as Rodney R., but the email lists it as Matt HUBRIS.
- By attempting to reset his Gmail account's password, users found his security question: "The first person I killed to gain entrance to the Moon Children is..."
- Several attempts to communicate with Ifrit are below:
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Ifrit Emails
Conversation #1 (user RedundancyKills)
- User: How did Ben drown? (Note: the portion of one of Jadusable's Cleverbot conversations where BEN refers to "another who asks" was attached to this message)
- Matt HUBRIS: Ben? You've heard from Ben? Where is he?
- User:http://www.youtube.com/user/Jadusable
As far as I can tell, he's everywhere. - Matt HUBRIS: No... we lost Ben during the blackout. We haven't heard from him.
- User: If you aren't aware. You're next. I'm not sure what your group is planning, but you might want to consider some alternatives...
http://www.youshouldnthavedonethat.net/index.php/contact/ben - Matt HUBRIS: that page redirects to a 404, are you sure you typed that in right?
- User: I'm sure you're going through a lot of email messages, but I hope you understand that I feel something dramatic will happen in an hour or so. Do you know what is in The Truth section of your website?
- Matt HUBRIS: Yes.
- User: Could you perhaps let me know?
- Matt HUBRIS: Your eyes... they aren't worthy to see it
- User: Is this a treatable ailment?
- Matt HUBRIS: Give them.
Conversation #2 (user RedundancyKills, via an alternate reply to "No... we lost Ben during the blackout.")
- User: How are you doing? Is he missing? What blackout? When was this?
I'm sorry if I seem insensitive, I'm sure you can understand the situation I'm in. Everything is so cryptic and bizarre on Jadusable's channel and on your website.
What information do you have? - Matt HUBRIS: Jadusables channel?
yes, Ben was my good friend. We're not sure, he might have ascended, but nothing was ever for sure - User: Who is Kelbris? (Note: several emails prior to this were sent, but this is the one he answered to)
- Matt HUBRIS: hang on someone keeps knocking at my door
Conversation #3:
- User: Who is Drowned?
- Matt HUBRIS: a friend of mine
Conversation #4:
- [unknown message from a player named Alex]
- Matt HUBRIS: Alex? Is that you? Where have you been?
Conversation #5:
- User: Who must we warn, and how?
- Matt HUBRIS: What?
Conversation #6:
- User: Where has Alex gone?
- Matt HUBRIS: Alex disappeared during the blackout, haven't heard from him.
- User: What is "The Truth" ?
- Matt HUBRIS: It is the true nature of the world, of us, of the prophecy.
- User: Does the prophecy have any relation to Luna?
- Matt HUBRIS: Of course.
- User: Can you explain this "prophecy" to me?
- Matt HUBRIS: No
- User: What happens during ascension?
- Matt HUBRIS: Become one with Luna
- User: Who gives you your specific ascension times?
- Matt HUBRIS: luna
- User: When is your ascension time?
- Matt HUBRIS: when luna starts whispering to me
Conversation #7 (user BGK5):
- User: Did you kill Rosa to gain entrance to the Moon Children...
- Matt HUBRIS: Of course not. Rosa is my sister.
Conversation #8:
- User: Hello.
I'm very interested in learning more about the Moon Children. I stumbled upon your site a few days ago, and was reading to learn more, but the site alone has not quenched my desires. I need to know more, and since you seem to be my verbal counterpart, I decided to ask you.
What is this group's goal? How do I get in? I've believed in Luna for a long time, but I didn't know you were out there. It's nice to find people with the same beliefs.
Shiva - Matt HUBRIS: Where do you live? We could set up a meeting. We have members throughout the United States, although a few were called down to the midwest recently I think by now they should be heading back to their respective homes
Conversation #9:
- User: This is my Mask... Do you like it? Should I wear it? (Note: attached was a photo of the user wearing Majora's Mask)
- Matt HUBRIS: Why base your mask on a video game? It doesn't represent you
- User: Why, it represents my love for the game
- Matt HUBRIS: No, it represents unoriginality. It represents filth
Conversation #10:
- User: I've heard that Ben drowned. Is that true?
- Matt HUBRIS: I dont know, that may explain why we never found his body.
Conversation #11:
- User: What happens when the timer runs out ?
- Matt HUBRIS: What timer ?
Conversation #12:
- User: What happened to Ben?
- Matt HUBRIS: We think he ascended, we're not sure. He was a good friend of mine
- User: What about Majora?
- Matt HUBRIS: Who?
- User: Majora's Mask. What does Majora's Mask have to do with Ben?
- Matt HUBRIS: The Zelda game? Nothing... why?
Conversation #13:
- User: What you have to lose? Say to me, how did you get in the Moon Children? Who did u kill, Ifrit?
- Matt HUBRIS: I've been spammed with this question, you guys are not going to hack into my account. Forget it.
- User: Well. I can give a try.
Seriously, how did u get in? Don't say who, just say how. - Matt HUBRIS: Why would I tell you that?
- User: Because you are my only hope. None of the orders can talk. U understand that right?
- Matt HUBRIS: Yes and if you were chosen I'd tell you
Conversation #14:
- User: Would I kill Ben?
- Matt HUBRIS: Did you? It would lay my mind to rest knowing that my brother is gone instead of clinging to false hopes that he still may be alive.
Miscellaneous replies:
- Matt HUBRIS: Ben was a good friend of mine. He went missing a while ago and we think that he's ascended.
- Matt HUBRIS: Alex is our most powerful warrior
- Matt HUBRIS: Wait, someone is at the door
- Matt HUBRIS: Hang on, someone is knocking at my door
- One hour before the countdown was set to end, DROWNED's post disappeared from the main page, and its music changed from the usual relaxing song to an even faster version of the Happy Mask Salesman's theme than before. The source code reveals that the song is called Matt's Final Hour.mp3.
- As the countdown neared its end, those still emailing Ifrit were answered with, "Hang on someone keeps knocking at my door." Ifrit failed to respond to any queries sent afterwards.
- Jadusable's YouTube account posted an excerpt of lyrics from "Who's that Knockin'" by The Genies - "What's that calling, calling my name/Tossed a brick through my window pane/Boom boom boom, bang bang bang". This is a reference to the entity knocking on Ifrit's door.
- At 9pm EST, a video response to free.wmv, called fj6rt, was posted by a YouTube account titled TheLinkMissing. The user's real name, according to their profile, was Alex. The video featured adult Link in Ocarina of Time playing the Song of Time in front of the moon.
- fj6rt was the title of Ifrit's contact page while it was up. The title of the page has since changed to the URL for the video response.
- On /x/, BEN posted the same message he had three days prior: "Honesty is the best policy," and a link to TheTruth.rtf.
- youshouldnthavedonethat.net went down for maintenance. We have been sent back in time.
The Second Cycle
September 19, 2010
- The Moon Children's site came back online. It appears in the early stages of production, as it had when users first found it. However, there was no sign of either Ifrit or DROWNED in the main page's posts. Ifrit's name did not appear on About. The song on the main page was changed from the original to a less relaxing one.
- Ifrit's Contact page had changed. Instead of the message from before, it displayed three Elegy statues and the text, "Expecting to find someone else?" The Skull Kid's laugh played in the background.
- Ifrit was likely killed before the time reset. This mirrors the in-game Majora's Mask mechanic that once a boss has been killed, they no longer exist once time resets.
- Instead of Ifrit having posted first on the main page, he is replaced by another moderator named Insidiae, who takes the role of welcoming members in Ifrit's place.
- As this was day one of the cycle, Nekko has not yet ascended.
- Ifrit's Contact page had changed. Instead of the message from before, it displayed three Elegy statues and the text, "Expecting to find someone else?" The Skull Kid's laugh played in the background.
- Users discovered Alex's contact page, which was hidden as a sub-page under Ifrit's. It displayed the text, "another who knows of them, chooses.... mask....sends aid.... fallen.... vehement.....diety.... he is alone against them." The last two thoughts are in hidden text.
- The Truth has changed; we had been sent far enough back in time that the page was no longer password protected. However, the text read, "Still in the progress of moving everything over, sorry for the delay. But it is imperative we find him and silence him before he can reveal our intentions. Also, I can't figure out how to make this private, we've got about two days or so before we open up this website to the world so I figure it'll be okay for now, not like anyone can stumble upon this, but can someone help out with that? - DW"
- As typos had been mentioned previously on the Creed page, it was investigated for clues. Several typos and seemingly-intentionally bolded letters were found, though these were present originally.
- The About page now requires a login to view.
- Wondering whether this would have the intended effect, a YouTube user called Freyadutenebres posted a video response to free.wmv, with a video of the Inverted Song of Time. This was accepted, and the website's time was slowed down.
- BEN responded to the song with a ciphered and scrambled message on Jadusable's channel: "CSY'ZI FIKYHHMWGSZIVC XSHEC, FYX RK FIGSQIW E GYVR XS GEXGL SR. CSYFPIWWM'ZI FIKYR XS WXEPSRK YRXMVX XLMROMRK. CSY'ZI QE LSA P XLEXWI? I ER"
- This translated to: "YOU'VE BEGUN TO START THINKING. YOU'VE BEGUN TO CATCH ON. YOU'VE MADE A DISCOVERY TODAY, BUT HOW LONG UNTIL THAT BLESSING BECOMES A CURSE?" The solution also contained an extra N.
- This referred to our newly-discovered ability to play songs to trigger events.
- Once the song ability was discovered, users began responding with other songs.
- The New Wave Bossa Nova was played by MFGreth. Its in-game effect of granting those without a voice the ability to speak was intended to be reflected by allowing us to email Ifrit. However, though it worked, Rosa was the one emailing us; she informed us that she knew the username and password to The Truth, but was only able to send it to one person before she disappeared.
- The Song of Healing was played by HigurashiMGOST, against the wishes of many other users. This song, which was accepted almost immediately after the New Wave Bossa Nova, caused Rosa's disappearance.
- This is confirmed by a post from Kelbris that appeared soon afterward on the main page. The username read "WHO DO YOU THINK THIS IS," and the post read, "I AM KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR NEXT. LET ME IN. I WANT TO SPEAK." The post was made at 6:66pm.
- This is confirmed by a post from Kelbris that appeared soon afterward on the main page. The username read "WHO DO YOU THINK THIS IS," and the post read, "I AM KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR NEXT. LET ME IN. I WANT TO SPEAK." The post was made at 6:66pm.
- The Oath to Order was played by moonman2522. However, as the in-game requirement for this song to work is the four giants having been freed, we had not yet met the requirement for this song to have a positive effect. Instead, it is believed to have killed Alex.
- Several attempts to communicate with Rosa are below:
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Rosa Emails
Conversation #1 (user ZackVee)
- User: I was just curious if you had either a link to the old site or a summary of what happened before you guys switched to the new site? Me and a few friends had been following you guys and wondered what the whole story was.
- User: Can you speak?
- Matt HUBRIS: WHY DID YOU PLAY THAT
- User: WE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS BEFORE WE REVERSE TIME. WHAT DO WE DO?!
- Matt HUBRIS: THE BLACKOUT, SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE BLACKOUT
- User: MATT DON'T OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR, ROSA SAID.
- User: MATT WHAT SONG DO WE NEED TO PLAY?!
- Matt HUBRIS: -I- AM ROSA, WHO IS THIS? DO YOU KNOW WHERE MATT IS?
- User: Rosa something is going on, what happened to alex, give me as much info as possible. We may be able to save matt somehow, all I can tell you is that this is Ben's fault.
- User: Who is matt also, this is all so confusing. What is matt doing with these people?!
- Matt HUBRIS: Bens been dead, I dont see how, i dont know what happened, after the blackout i dont know where matt is i dont know where alex is, why would we want to find him anyway??? ,please call someone i can hear it counting down outside my door
- User: What happened leading up to the blackout, and why did it happen, what happened during it?! We can reverse this and fix everything if you can get me the info.
- User: Rosa do NOT OPEN THAT DOOR.
- User: ROSA I NEED THE PASSWORD AND USERNAME
Conversation #2 (user Ryukaki)
- User: What happened in the blackout!
- User: Talk to me, Matt!
- User: Rosa?! That's you?!
- Matt HUBRIS: Yes, who sist his
- Matt HUBRIS: plase if you are nearby a phone please call the police
- Matt HUBRIS: i can hear it outside my door
- Matt HUBRIS: what is going on
- User: Leave!
- User: Get out now!
- User: Rosa, where do you live?!
- User: I will call the police!
- Matt HUBRIS: OREGON
- Matt HUBRIS: ITS OUTSIDE MY DOOR
- User: They're coming for you, you need to get out!
- Matt HUBRIS: I CANT GO ANYWHERE
- User: ROSE
- User: WHAT IS THE USERNAME AND PASSWORD
- User: QUICKLY
- User: WE CAN SAVE THE OTHERS
- User: Rosa, please!
- User: Hurry! There's still time!
- Matt HUBRIS: MattHubris423/thelensoftruth (Note: these were censored in screenshots shared by Ryukaki)
- User: IF you can escape, do so! I will not waste this chanse!
- Matt HUBRIS: please
- Matt HUBRIS: call the fucking police
- Matt HUBRIS: ...
- Matt HUBRIS: it stoped
- User: Give me your address!
- User: ... It's leaving?
- User: .. Rosa? Are you still there?
- User: Please tell me you're safe!
- User: Rosa! Please! THe login isn't working!
- User: Fuck fuck fuck
The Third Cycle
September 20, 2010
- After Rosa stopped answering emails, having told one user that she had not been able to contact Ifrit, something happened during the blackout, and that someone was counting down outside her door, the user panicked. After discussing the matter with others, a user named Miya uploaded the Song of Time. This was accepted, and time was once again reset.
- After the time reset, tags on Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines - Rosa were changed to "YOU, DIDN'T, SAVE, HER," and several other videos were given the tags, "Rosa, Trapped." The tags confirm that Rosa had been doomed, possibly due to the delay in playing the Song of Time.
- Shortly afterward, Alex's YouTube channel uploaded a video titled ... The video showed Link being defeated in battle by Dark Link; this is believed to be caused by the Oath to Order.
- MFGreth quickly responded to this with a video of Link using a fairy, hoping to save Alex.
- Alex's channel responded with continue, which showed the Game Over screen, and the Yes option being selected. MFGreth's response was successful.
- Another user, Cerxi, played the Sonata of Awakening. It is unknown what this video's intention was, but it caused Alex to disappear.
- Shortly afterward, Jadusable's channel uploaded huntyoudown.wmv. It showed Dark Link, partially transparent, walking through and out of the Temple of Time, Navi entering view as he exits. What this video symbolizes is unknown; it was soon removed from the channel, but re-uploaded by MFGreth.
- At 5:30am, only a few hours into Day One of a new cycle, the ARG ended indefinitely. Alex Hall, the author and runner, claimed that financial difficulties were preventing him from continuing. Consequently, huntyoudown.wmv was removed from Jadusable's channel.
- Shortly after putting the ARG on hiatus, Alex Hall conducted a Q&A on /x/. It answered many questions that users had about certain mechanics and story points. He was reluctant to answer many plot-related questions, as he hoped to utilize them later.
- At 9:30pm, despite the ARG having been put on indefinite hold, BEN posted TheTruth.rtf on /x/ once again. However, it now included an image of the Happy Mask Salesman titled The Father.jpg. This confirmed suspicions that he represents the Father.
September 21, 2010
- Alex announced that, due to donations from some generous people, he may be able to continue the story in the near future.
The Glitch
October 4, 2010
- Around 9:00pm, recently-planted clues were discovered in the source code for certain pages of youshouldnthavedonethat.net.
- Chapters: the text "http://" was discovered.
- The Truth: the text "WHAT" was discovered.
- FAQ: the text "IS" was discovered.
- Donations: the text "not so fast" was discovered.
- ARG Timeline: the text ".com" was discovered.
- Many users assumed that the final word was "Ben," as the domain http://whatisben.com had recently been created. However, the page had not been publicly released.
- Chapters: the text "http://" was discovered.
October 5, 2010
- Users noticed that the phrase, "Probably not" contained within Alex Hall's out-of-character update had become struck through. Additionally, the music had changed from Lost In My Thoughts to Destroyed Vioiln Beat Dark Rap Instrumental.
October 6, 2010
- Between the hours of 6:00 and 7:30am, youshouldnthavedonethat.net experienced several strange changes, known collectively as The Glitch.
- The site icon changed to an image of a small child in a gas mask, titled HKBBDIN.jpg.
- On the front page, a picture of a gas mask appeared; when further investigated, the image was revealed to have two file names: StoleMy.jpg and Eyes.jpg. Hidden in the last part of a cipher below this image were three files: FSZTKU.txt, TheLie.txt, and TheTruth.txt. The cipher required multiple shifts and unscrambling to solve.
- Cipher: UJQ XGJXDIYEXYGXGJZAE. UJQXKXDIYEKYOJZAE. UZAE. SGK JQ SOO ITSYGJQNJAJMNR
- FSZTKU.txt: You didn't think I was done with you. Did you? You are done playing when I say you are done playing.
- TheLie.txt: This is just a dream.
- TheTruth.txt: Wake up. You have to wake up.
- Above the gas mask, "It's not real" was typed nine times in hidden text.
- Odd, unintelligible whispering can be heard on the main page and The Truth.
- On The Truth and FAQ, the header was changed to "This Will Hurt You." The FAQ page contained Kelbris.jpg.
- Over time, three messages appeared on the front page:
- You are waking up now. 13 minutes.
- You are waking up now. 5 minutes.
- Pulling the plug.
- You are waking up now. 13 minutes.
- Those keeping watch over the site alerted others quickly. The URLs for the three files hidden within the cipher hinted toward the existence of more files, which users were quick to find. In all, the numbers 1 to 63 could be inserted in the place of the numbers at the end of the URL, each corresponding to a different file. Several were password-protected, and the 31st file was missing.
- Soon afterward, the site reverted to its state on September 21 and the guestbook was cleared. The music for the main page had changed back to Lost In My Thoughts; the users have "woken up." The ARG was officially started again.
- Shortly after the reset, the music changed back to Destroyed Vioiln Beat Dark Rap Instrumental, and the text "Probably not" had been struck through again; this time, it was underlined as well.
- The main page underwent another quick change. For a brief time, the banner was replaced with several Elegy statues and all text except for the title and guestbook disappeared, as well as the music. Minutes later, the changes were reverted.
- On Jadusable's YouTube channel, a bulletin containing free.wmv and a scrambled message was published. When rearranged, the message lead here, to a seemingly-unrelated forum about prisons. The letter in the archive, dated April 23, 2003, contained the story of a death-row prisoner. However, a more subtle message was received by users: get in contact with each other and organize in order to prepare for the coming events. Shortly afterward, the post was removed from the channel.
- The Chapter 5 page's info was revealed to contain the text, "I hope you had more patience than he did." This was reverted soon afterward.
- A message of unknown origin began its circulation via several ARG-related sites. Much of the information in this message is no longer relevant and many pages linked no longer exist, but it served to alert many players to the events of the day.:
Expand
The Call to Arms
- Jadusable's YouTube posted the following message to its Recent Activity, along with his first video.
- "=====plase if you are nearby a phone please call the police i can hear it outside my door====="
- Rosa's plead for help comes from an earlier email sent during the Second Cycle.
- By this time, every password-protected file had been solved, except for the 59th, titled mhftt.txt.
- As many rushed to figure out the password to this file, the main page updated with a brief message at the top, stating, "The answer is right in front of you. THINK." This message was removed within five minutes.
- Shortly afterward, the password was found by a user called Lunchbox. The user began mentioning the Lens of Truth, which turned out to be close to the password, thelensoftruth.
- The text file within is below:
- As many rushed to figure out the password to this file, the main page updated with a brief message at the top, stating, "The answer is right in front of you. THINK." This message was removed within five minutes.
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mhftt.txt
If you're reading this then you've found the secret message. This is the last one i can send out. I am not dead. its sitting right in front of you. You are meant to survive this, you can't give him what he wants. I don't know how to tell you this, but there is no more link now, he was the last thing that stood between you and IT as some kind of conduit. that conduit is severed now. there is notConsider this the REALhing that is separating you from him, he will try to get to you, It will try to break you, but you have to remain strong, you cannot it. It is sadistic. It will try and give you guys a fighting chance like it's given everyone else. it wants you to try and resist to try and be fooled into thinking that you have any semblence of free will. do not buy it. do not believe it. It is always watching, and it will lead you iTruth.txtnto oblivion if you let it. do not be fooled, if something is too good to be true - be wary. you must use this overconfidence and systematic prediction against it. how? I do not know. that is something that i could not figure out before the end. even now, its allowing me to reach you, through this message.
Your first instinct may be to assume that this message has been tampered with, but then you may not really understand who It really is. It wants to play, it wants a challenge. It has led you thWhat are you talking about?is far for a reason, but now you will be given the means to fight back. I say let Its arrogance be its undoing.
There are strength in numbers. you no doubt have others who will help collaborate with you. there are those who have left behind clues subtle enough for It to not realize their significance. they may help you if you can find them. combine your brains together, starting with the recent "glitch", compile every bit of evidence you have and share it amongst yourselves, and you may gain the upperhand yet.
Do not ever let It use you. It thinks It is in control, yet despite all the omnipotence in the world, there is nothing more dangerous than the illusion of compliance.
- Ifrit,
EBOAKBBYCKWWXQGMEQNOK,RKZVOKCIVOWYJJMBKA
AQOT XUDTHYSAI OEK QHU YD TQDWUH.
- The final line of the document was decoded almost immediately. It read: "KAYD HENDRICKS YOU ARE IN DANGER." Upon searching, a deviantArt owned by a Kayd Hendricks was found, under the name Ryukaki.
- The first cipher in mhftt.txt was left unsolved due to the difficulty, leading some to believe it's unsolvable.
- This cipher currently remains unsolved.
- It was briefly thought to have been solved when, around 1:00am on August 16, 2018, CircleHunter appeared to decode it as, "I SEE YOU THREE LIVE, CAN MY DEAR ROSA PLEASE LIVE."
- Despite confirmation from Alex Hall that this is indeed the solution, future events would cause doubt as to whether this cipher is truly solved; as a result, it remains officially unsolved.
- It is currently unknown whether this is the true solution, as future events would shed light onto the true nature of the events of this arc.
- Users tracked down Ryukaki's YouTube channel, and began watching it for activity.
Ryukaki
This article or section contains information that may not be canon.
- Further searching through Ryukaki's DeviantArt led to a role playing website, where initial contact was made via its IRC client. The following is a transcript of the first IRC conversation between players (JarSqwuid, Xerot, DarkScythe) and Ryukaki's group. Messages with no relevance have been removed:
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First IRC contact with Ryukaki
October 7, 2010
- Sometime in the early morning, the following conversation took place between JarSqwuid and Ryukaki in his group's IRC chat:
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Second IRC contact with Ryukaki
- Many users who submitted their phone numbers on the original Moon Children site's Contact page began reporting phone calls coming from a blocked number. Two different things were reported:
- A call consisting of a short period of silence, followed by the reversed Song of Healing, which faded into Destroyed Vioiln Beat Dark Rap Instrumental.
- A voicemail consisting of the Elegy of Emptiness, followed by a voice that says, "You shouldn't have done that."
- At 4:00pm, Jadusable's YouTube channel made two posts:
- "No group knows anything more than anyone else. There is no private information, only different theories. You are all equals. Sephiriam has no significance, just the next lamb wandering blindly into its inevitable slaughter. This will hurt you, Sephiriam."
- "You are now stripped of this resource as punishment for your arrogance, and yet by eliminating that website, this is the most charitable act I will ever do. Do not think that there is any place that is beyond my reach."
- The second bulletin coincided with reports of the We All Are Link LiveJournal being stripped of its content by a then-unknown party. BEN appeared to be taking credit for it.
- Ryukaki uploaded three videos over the course of the day:
- Sounds.wmv, in which he searches his house for the source of odd noises that he had been hearing. Interestingly, at 3:33 in the video, two glowing lights are seen on camera, though he claimed to have not seen them while filming.
- Music.wmv, in which he films a call that he repeatedly received, much like other users received.
- The Orchard.wmv, in which he claimed to have possibly captured footage of whatever is stalking him, though we never see it. Interestingly, he mispronounces "elegy" as "eulogy."
- Orchard2.wmv, a follow-up to the previous one, in which he claims that his phone was stolen.
- Sometime during the day, Ryukaki sent the following email to Quia:
- Subject: thelensoftruth
"Spread the word -- Youtube, IRC, everywhere. I've seen it. I think I got it on video. Do not trust any source other than me or the website.
I don't have time to explain. I'll be in touch."
- Subject: thelensoftruth
October 8, 2010
- A second contact page for Ben containing Fourth Day timer was discovered. It appeared to be a remnant of the original, only existing for archival purposes.
- Sometime during the day, Ryukaki sent the following email to Quia:
- Subject: finalhours
"He's found me. He has my scent, or something, I don't know. I guess I never really knew?
I have answers. For everyone. They're being prepared. I've got everything ready. It wont be what they want, but it should be enough to fight whatever this thing is.
Tell them I'm sorry I couldn't help more.
Please, spread the word. Everywhere. Tell everyone. The website is the key. Everything else is a lie. You must tell them to see clearly past the deception, to look away from the false prophets.
If they let themselves be led down the wrong path by anyone, everything is lost.
It's too late for me. Make my work count."
- Subject: finalhours
October 9, 2010
- Ryukaki's activity started with the upload of a new video to his channel, titled theconnection.wmv. It contained Kayd conversing with a friend named Thomas, and a cipher that led to his MediaFire. Users kept an eye on the account afterwards, and the following files were received.
- quickly.txt was the first to appear.
- must.txt was the second, along with three empty folders named "connections."
- secret.txt was the third, along with one empty folder named "connections."
- reveal.txt was the fourth, along with one empty folder named "connections."
- Last.txt was the fifth and final, and there were no folders to accompany it.
- Transcribed together, the files read as follows:
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Ryukaki MediaFire .txt files
This is the first.
These messages will not last long. I have set up a failsafe so that you all will get this information before Ben can tamper with it, and it will be quickly removed so that he cannot infect it. I hope you are all watching this account.
By now, I'm either long gone, or it's caught up to me. Either way, these uploads will be my last messages to you.
Wait for them.
Now that I realize what he kept saying.. that it was in front of us the whole time, I am surprised that nobody got it but me.
All of the clues were there.. haha.. a few of you even came really close.
I told you all that if things got really bad-- that I would contact everyone I could and give them what I have. Now that it can no longer protect me, I will be doing just that.
These files going up here, they're on a timer. The timer is taking them down, too. Everything will be automated, so don't worry. Despite not knowing you did, I have a feeling you all provided me protection in my more harrowing hours. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.
I can't tell you how I'll be letting it out. If Ben doesn't know, when it goes, he'll have less time to try and stop it. Just keep an eye out. I hope this reaches at least one of you, and you will spread the word.
I know there will be skepticism, I know there will be a lot of mistrust among all of you. Ben has done an amazing job at keeping you fighting over just who and what is real.
That's not going to stop.
But also know that his lies will only reach so far. He wants you all to keep playing. He wants you in the game, but only just enough that he can keep mocking you.
The file that led you to me, it contained a larger secret than you knew.
mhftt
All of the answers are right there. Think.
By now you might have noticed a pattern. I wont tell you if that pattern is useful or not. Just keep watching. Today you will get all the answers I have.
That's only the first part of things, though.
There's more to it. You have all been following this as though it were a game.
Ben, he was a part of that game, so he sees things in hues that reflect it, but it's real now. It's beyond a game.
I know it is natural for everyone to want to look deeper. To make connections where they don't exist.
The Truth has always been right there. Like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the answers were given to you.
Few things have been recurring, but if you look, if you really look, they're there. The salvation comes in noticing what has emerged in the pattern.
There will be something more than these notes, soon. Again, I will not tell you when, just keep watching.
If you can get to it before him, it will contain all of the parts of the puzzle, but it will be up to you to put them together before he does.
Byg gzy'o jznkio omi vih.
These are my last words.
If after the file following this is recieved, you still haven't figured things out.. then I guess I've failed you all. I hope Ben does not get to things before you do, but know that over the past few days, I have not only trained you to know what the answers are, but I've spelled them out for you as well. I don't think you'll hear from me again. Thank you all. Goodbye, and goodluck.
-- Kayd.
...?
- Shortly after Last.txt was uploaded, Ryukaki uploaded lastwords.wmv. Consisting of assorted images and footage with reversed audio, it was his final video before his disappearance. The following is the reversed audio, when corrected.
- "Something about a boy dying here some time ago. It's meaningless to me, but peoples' superstitions make for great house prices. April 23rd, just moved into the new place. It's decent; a little small for me."
- Soon afterward, the login username from the video, mhftt, was tested with various passwords. However, the prior emails released implied that the username was matthubris423. To further complicate matters, neither name was listed on the members list. Only one existed: admin.
- Some time later that day, JarSqwuid made one last contact via IRC, this time with Quia. The following is a transcript of that conversation:
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Final IRC contact with Quia
October 10, 2010
- At approximately 9:00pm, the guestbook was emptied. About five minutes later, the page was cleared entirely, and ads appeared on the bottom of the pages.
- At 9:20pm, the main page received a new layout and the music was replaced with Hard Epic Instrumental. Alex Hall announced the conclusion of the second arc of the story, and announced information regarding the third, particularly the interactive game.
- Hidden text at the bottom read, "You might want to compare notes with each other, you seem to have missed a very important detail. It would be in your best interest to get that sorted out before the game releases. Good luck."
- The detail it refers to was assumed to be either the unsolved cipher in File 59 or the inability to log into the website. However, it was possible that something else was missed entirely, as implied by Ryukaki calling it "obvious."
Hubris
Waiting Game
November 8, 2010
- The text on the main page was replaced with the word "updating."
- After a while, that was replaced with the long-awaited YSHDT Q&A that had been promised.
November 9, 2010
- Jadusable's YouTube channel posted a new video, titled 2. The video contains only the text "No one came," and the sound of underwater struggling.
- The video is 43 seconds long. When combined with the title, it creates 423.
Pyrrhic Prophecy
January 1, 2011
- Most of the website became password-protected for a short time. Alex Hall posted an update afterward, admitting the holiday release date was unrealistic. He also stated that there would be a sort of build-up prior to the release of the game, claiming that it would be out before April. The Q&A was still present, but the guestbook was cleared and the music was removed.
- The source code for the FAQ page was changed to "This could come in hand later" instead of "IS," throwing off the "http:// WHAT IS Not so fast .com" pattern. In addition, there was a hidden line of text that read, "If you are looking for a clue, this isn't it."
- The description of the Timeline page was removed.
January 4, 2011
- Hidden text was found on the Timeline page:
- "- Pyrrhic prophecy is hinted at"
- Note: "Pyrrhic" means something that obtains victory, but with disastrous losses.
- This message was added on January 1 when the description of the page was removed.
January 5, 2011
- "-Pyrrhic prophecy is hinted at" has been removed from the Timeline page.
January 14, 2011
- Due to the amount of spam and abuse taking place in the guestbook, which in turn caused the site to load slowly or crash, Alex Hall removed the guestbook.
January 20, 2011
- Alex Hall posted an announcement on his YouTube channel:
- Update: The game is coming along smoothly, we actually may end up getting a release date early next month, but I'm not going to come out and confirm anything yet until it's certain. Rest assured there will be announcement plenty of time ahead of its release.
Not Yet Time
February 1, 2011
- Alex Hall updated the main page announcement, in which he claimed there was a hitch with Unity concerning one of the levels, but they were working on getting around it and that it would not stop production. Notably, he posted the following:
- "Making the final phase of this story has been the most intensive project I've ever taken on and it's all starting to come to fruition in these next few weeks. The next update will be featuring some screenshots of the game and introducing the build-up event and this will probably be the last 'out of character' update you guys get."
- The guestbook was brought back as well.
February 10, 2011
- Four new password-protected files, 64 through 67, were discovered.
February 11, 2011
- The contact page for Alex was seen to have been cleared entirely; this happened around the time the files were discovered, but was only noticed at this time.
February 12, 2011
- The main page updated fairly quickly several times with very brief messages that were quickly removed. The messages are below:
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Consecutive February 12 updates
First update, 11:38pm:
- February 12, 2011
You're beginning to slowly go insane.
Second update, 11:39pm:
- February 12, 2011
You're beginning to slowly go insane. You begin to slowly lose your grip on reality.
Third update, 11:43pm:
- February 12, 2011
You begin to slowly lose your grip on reality.
Fourth update, 11:49pm:
- February 12, 2011
Not time yet Not yet time. Too soon. So
February 13, 2011
- The Majora's Mask icon for the website disappeared and was replaced with the host website's default image of a 3x3 grid. Looking into the source code showed that the icon was not intended to be replaced by anything; instead, the option of having a custom icon was removed.
February 14, 2011
- At 11:08am, the site went down. The reasons for this are unknown.
- The site went back up at 1:22pm.
February 15, 2011
- Sheik contacted Alex Hall regarding activity on Ryukaki's YouTube channel, and posted this to the Drowned forums. The screenshots no longer exist, but Alex confirmed that any future activity from the channel is non-canon.
- Kayd Hendricks later posted the following on Ryukaki's channel: "I want to stress that nothing I say is to be taken as subliminal or as a further part of the ARG. My part is done. But I'd like to answer questions for the people who have followed me and to clear the air about anything I may or may not have done on purpose or on accident. Thank you all for all of the support you've given."
February 16, 2011
- Around 8:00pm, users noticed trouble connecting to the site. The cause is unknown.
- At around 10:00pm, Alex Hall posted an announcement on YouTube:
- "I'll be having a public Q&A with you guys at 11:00pm EST tonight (roughly an hour form now), feel free to stop by at [1]. I'll be under the screen name JadusableH."
- A short time later, he updated again:
- "I'm moving the Q&A to a more moderated chat, it'll be less spamtastic this way - [2]"
- The Q&A took place for just over an hour
Bastion of Defense
February 17, 2011
- Around 3:06am, Alex Hall posted an update to Jadusable's YouTube channel, reading, "Looking for three responsible individuals to act as forum moderators. Send me a brief resume at jadusable@youshouldnthavedonethat.net if you think you would be interested."
- Around 11:00am, a countdown appeared on the main page of youshouldnthavedonethat.net. The timer counted down to an event referred to as "Another Step," and was set to end at 7:00pm. When hovered over with the cursor, the counter read, "18 Feb 2011 is when you unite."
- Alex Hall posted another update on his YouTube channel requesting Skype names for moderator applicants, hoping to secure a meeting that night.
- Guestbook entries from the 10th to 16th disappeared.
- As the counter ended, the site went down.
- Jadusable's channel posted three updates containing pieces of the following binary code:
- 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 00111010 00101111 00101111 01111010 00110001 00110101 00101110 01101001 01101110 01110110 01101001 01110011 01101001 01101111 01101110 01100110 01110010 01100101 01100101 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 01010111 01101001 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01011111 01001000 01110101 01100010 01110010 01101001 01110011 00101111
- The message was an encoded URL for a forum: http://z15.invisionfree.com/Within_Hubris/
- YSHDT's continuous server problems prevented many users from accessing the site.
- Two of the binary codes on Jadusable's channel were removed, followed by the third shortly afterward.
- Jadusable's YouTube channel posted another update:
- " http://z15.invisionfree.com/Within_Hubris The final piece of the puzzle is sliding into place, when the bastion is completed you will have everything you need."
- Bastion means "a group that defends principle" or "a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle." Bastion refers to this forum, based on this forum post:
- "This is our last haven, our last bastion of defense. And yet it houses our greatest minds, and our strongest warriors."
- Soon after the forum was discovered, two forum groups appeared for around twenty seconds before disappearing.
- Forum group "HELP ME" with subforum "PLEASE GOD HELP ME" appeared first.
- Forum group "MY EYES" with subforum "THEY TOOK" appeared around ten minutes later.
- In the list of members, the first thirteen members are listed as "Tenors." The Tenors are Jadusable, Hubris, Ryukaki, Alex, Nekko, Duskworld23, Drowned, BEN, Rosa, Insidiae, Tyler, Kelbris, and Guide.
February 18, 2011
- A new, permanent forum group was added to Within Hubris, titled "Wayward Horizon," which cannot be seen without logging in. It contained one sub-forum called "???," which was password-protected.
- When first noticed, there was only one topic there, created by Hubris.
- Minutes later, the subforum was empty.
- Then, one topic appeared, created by Guide.
- Another topic was created by Nekko.
- Then another topic, this time by Duskworld23.
- The fourth and latest topic was created by a new user, ???.
- When trying to enter the subforum, one is met with a login page.
- On the password screen, it says, "Please do not attempt to enter a password unless you are authorised. Failed attempts are logged and you may have your posting rights removed upon repetitive failure." However, it was soon discovered that this was not true, and failed attempts are simply logged.
- It was confirmed by one of the moderators that they have nothing to do with the strange happenings on the site. No one group has more knowledge than any other. They are only there as custodians, keeping the place clear of problems and keeping order. In another topic they admit having no connections to Guide, an admin, and are unaware of the password to Wayward Horizon.
- Also confirmed are the forum categories "Announcements," "Story," and "Community" being out of character. Anything outside of that are out of the mods' control and is being controlled by Guide.
February 19, 2011
- The following binary code appeared on Rosa's user profile in the location field:
- 10011101 10011110 10001100 10001011 10010110 10010000 10010001 10010000
- When translated from binary to text, it becomes: žŒ‹–‘
- When the binary is inverted, it becomes:
- 01100010 01100001 01110011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 01101111
- This translates to "bastiono," which is Esperanto for bastion. This implies that Rosa is trapped within our bastion and alive.
- Around 6:24PM EST, YSHDT.net is updated with the following:
February 17, 2011 The time has come to unite. Almost.
- Interestingly, the post refers to the 17th when the previous counter said we unite on the 18th.
- The binary code on Rosa's profile changed to:
- 100111011001111010001100100010111001011010010000100100011001000010011001
- Inverted and converted to text, it reads "bastionof," or "Bastion of." Words are missing.
- YSHDT.net's title is switched to "Within Hubris."
- A user named ProtonConroy solves the puzzle from Rosa's profile: "bastionofdefense." This was the password to Wayward Horizon.
- In Wayward Horizon, the posts made by Nekko, Duskworld23, and ??? are present. A few minutes later, a fifth topic by Kelbris appears.
- Below is each post, translated from its original binary. The originals have been recreated here.
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Wayward Horizon
Post #1 (Pinned post): "Welcome To The Waywar01011001110000101," by Guide
- Description: ????//
- You're not supposed to be here.Get.Out.
Post #2: "The First," by Nekko
- whatis? wherethis? help me please, i'm so scared. where is everyone?i'm so lonely... mommy im so sorry. i promise i'll be a better son, ipromise i'll be the little boy you've always wanted, i miss you i'm soscared... mommy just please wake me up. please PLEASE MOMMY WHERE ARE YOU
Post #3: "The Fourth," by Duskworld23
- I can't stand it. I can't even have a momentI can't stand it. I can't even have a moment no think. I want to kill myself, but I don't know how. Have to find a way, before I lose myself.
- Note: required several shifts and conversions for the end result
Post #4: "The Seventh," by ???
- I can become God.
- I can become everything.
Post #5: "...," by Kelbris
- GET OUT
- Note: only post not in binary.
- Soon after the password was used, it was reset and everyone was logged out of the forum.
- The new password for Wayward Horizon changed to "youshouldntbehere." Nothing in the forum has changed.
February 20, 2011
- At around 10:35pm, the copyright information on YSHDT.net changed to © 2011 Within Hubris.
- YSHDT.net went down again due to bandwidth issues, most likely related to use of reloading browser extensions like SiteDelta.
- The password "youshouldntbehere" stopped working for Wayward Horizon.
- The URL for youshouldnthavedonethat.net began redirecting to Within Hubris. At an unknown date, it stopped. From this point forward, youshouldnthavedonethat.net is officially no longer part of the story.
February 21, 2011
- Alex Hall begins seeking help with the downed YSHDT's problems.
- Jadusable's YouTube channel adds another channel, HubrisOST, to its friends list. This new channel is used for uploading songs from the ARG.
- At 8:13pm, Alex Hall announces @WithinHubris, the official Within Hubris Updates Twitter account on Jadusable's YouTube channel.
- The first tweet, posted at 7:01pm, reads, "Twitter created. Stay tuned for the "Hubris Reveal" trailer later this week."
- As Guide, he posts the entirety of the Haunted Cartridge Arc on Within Hubris, then posts an update on Within Hubris that reiterates the update from the YouTube channel.
Hubris Reveal
February 25, 2011
- At 6:09pm, @WithinHubris tweets, "'Hubris Reveal' trailer debuts on Jadusable's Youtube channel on Sunday, February 27th at 6pm EST."
- Around ten minutes later, the same message was posted on Jadusable's YouTube channel.
February 26, 2011
- Several users of Within Hubris received an envelope in the mail. Contained within were a newspaper clipping and a letter, which detail potential Moon Children activity and a message from BEN, respectively.
- The recipients of the letter were the top fifty donators to the link on YSHDT.net.
- Hidden periods were discovered in two posts from Guide. Whether these are significant is debatable.
- The posts were lost due to the Within Hubris takedown.
- At 5:51pm, a timer was discovered on Within Hubris. It counted down to an hour before the release time given by @WithinHubris for the Hubris Reveal; alongside it was the ominous phrase, "They have to warn you."
- Guide posts A Comprehensive Guide to the Story as promised. It serves to help direct attention to the essential story points. In addition, it also states that you do not have to understand the other arcs in order to enjoy the Hubris Arc. The guide has been lost.
February 27, 2011
- Jadusable's YouTube channel posts three updates:
- what are you doing?
- STOP THIS
- /i
- Just before 6:00pm, h b i s r ea l, a corrupted version of the Hubris Reveal, is posted.
- The binary code in the video translates to "isn't clear yet."
- Further analysis can be found here.
- At 5:59pm, @WithinHubris tweets, "H b i s r ea l uploaded instead?"
- The updates on Jadusable's channel start to disappear and reappear continuously. Something is struggling for control of the account, which was thought to be "safely" in the hands of BEN up to this point.
- Guide's post from February 21 is edited. Hidden text is added below the main message, which reads, "not the real not the real not the real not the real not the real."
March 1, 2011
- At 1:13pm, Guide posts an update asking for an additional programmer and artist for the game.
April 23, 2011
- At 3:31am, @WithinHubris tweets, "There'll be an update on 4/23, look for it around 6pm est." At 5:23pm, it is followed with, "I would also like to clarify that around 6pm est does not mean *exactly* at 6pm est :P It all depends on when my conference call finishes."
- Around 6:00pm, Guide posts an update on Within Hubris confirming May 10 as the release date for the Hubris trailer, as well as some additional information regarding the game.
May 10, 2011
- Guide posts an update on Within Hubris, explaining that the trailer has been delayed until further notice, as the person who shot the footage failed to return Alex's calls.
May 27, 2011
- Within Hubris user Kylinn receives a reply from Alex Hall, reading, "I haven't updated you guys yet because there isn't really anything to update about, I'm still waiting on that guy to get back to me =\ but I think most likely we'll be able to get something out in the beginning of June. I'll keep you guys posted!"
Early to Mid-2011
- Sometime between February 28 and June 8, youshouldnthavedonethat.net stopped redirecting users to Within Hubris. In its place, a notice that it was no longer in use (provided by GoDaddy.com) was present.
- Alex Hall assured players that, "Youshouldnthavedonethat.net will be returning, albeit in a different form."
June 8, 2011
- A Within Hubris user, MajinMew, finds a member of the Tenor group not previously listed, named Usekeb.
- Usekeb joined on April 22, the day before 4/23, his last known date of activity.
- He has made one post since joining, but it is not viewable, as is the case with the other Tenors.
June 10, 2011
- Within Hubris user MessedUpPro messages Alex Hall via Facebook regarding the trailer and receives the reply, "I'm working with him now again finally after all this time, so we should be able to put out something in the next week or so, but I dont want to give a definitive date yet incase it falls through again." When asked how he was doing, he replied, "Hectic, haha, to say the least. As much as I want the game to take precidence over everything else I'm doing, its hard to juggle all this stuff at once, but hopefully we're getting close to the light at the end of the tunnel."
June 22, 2011
- At 5:26am, @WithinHubris announced Alex Hall's new official Twitter account, @AlexanderDHall.
- Later, Alex Hall held a Q&A in the Knights of Theet Chatango.
The Hiatus
Gamejacking Accusations
July 15, 2011
- At 8:43pm, Alex Hall announced that the ARG has been paused indefinitely.
- Presumably around this time, his channel's avatar was changed to a frame from free.wmv.
- Shortly afterward, Kayd Hendricks began a Q&A, under the handle APseudonym, about his part in the ARG. This interview was controversial in that he claimed that most of his interaction with Alex was ignored, leaving him to handle the story on his own.
July 17, 2011
- In response to users calling him out for ignoring Kayd, Alex posted an angry declaration that he had no intention for Kayd's story to happen, and that he had essentially "gamejacked," but was left to continue because he thought Kayd meant well. He continues to say that he had originally intended to keep his story canon, but the bitter aftermath of the interview changed his mind.
- In the same thread, Kayd fires back at Alex by saying that, had he known he was "gamejacking," he would never have continued, but after being called out due to the File 59 cipher and the swarms of players begging for information, he did what he thought he had to. Subsequent contact from Alex showed that he enjoyed the videos, so Kayd felt as if he did everything correctly.
October 26, 2011
- Files archived by We All Are Link during the Moon Children incident were released to the public. Some of these revealed never-before-seen interaction with Jadusable's YouTube channel, but no important information was gathered.
- The files no longer exist due to the Within Hubris takedown.
King Kong and Hubris Alpha
March 27, 2012
- Users discover that youshouldnthavedonethat.net has been placed for sale. After contact from worried players, Alex Hall stated that he had no plans to use or re-purchase the site, and to disregard anything that happens there.
March 29, 2012
- Two videos were renamed:
- free.wmv is renamed "you can hear me.wmv."
- 2 is renamed "4ucme.wmv."
- Several tags were changed.
April 1, 2012
- A new video is uploaded to Jadusable's YouTube channel: king kong.wmv
- Seemingly a version of day four.wmv with Goron Link, its true nature is revealed when King Kong by Jibbs feat. Chamillionaire begins playing.
- Around the same time the video was uploaded, Jadusable's YouTube avatar changed.
- This video and the other renames are part of an April Fool's Day joke conducted by Alex Hall. Everything reverts to normal soon afterward, except for a few tags. The new avatar would remain for roughly two weeks before returning to Jadusable's original pre-BEN avatar.
Mid-April, 2012
- Sometime between April 1 and April 23, the videos 2 and h b i s r ea l are entirely removed from Jadusable's channel.
April 23, 2012
- Around 6:00pm, in response to the iconic 4/23 date, Alex Hall posts an update for the future of his projects; while he has no new information on the continuation of the ARG due to his working on Methods of Revolution, he gives the players a gift: the Hubris Alpha, a very basic version of the first area of the planned game.
- The game is a stripped version of the house seen in h b i s r ea l. It provides no new ARG information, but was a nice gesture nonetheless.
April 24, 2012
- In order to generate hype for the announcement of Alex Hall's newest project, "Methods of Revolution", a countdown to 12:00pm EST on April 26 appeared just under the banner on Within Hubris. In addition, the banner itself was changed; it now featured the text, "Revolution Begins 4/26/12" and a line of white silhouettes overlapping one another as they walk.
April 26, 2012
- At 12:00pm, Alex Hall uploaded the official Methods of Revolution announcement video. Soon afterward, the timer was removed from the forum and the banner returned to normal.
- Sometime between the appearance and removal of the timer, two other banners were featured alongside the aforementioned one. Poorly composed and taking inspiration from the Wikipedia "personal appeal" banners, they appeared as follows:
- The first featured a photo of Alex Hall and the text, "Please read: A personal appeal from a creepypasta writer."
- The second featured a crop of the Elegy statue and the text, "Please read: A personal appeal from Haunted Entity BEN."
- Only the second of these banners remains, with the first still lost.
- Sometime between the appearance and removal of the timer, two other banners were featured alongside the aforementioned one. Poorly composed and taking inspiration from the Wikipedia "personal appeal" banners, they appeared as follows:
Final Days
June 2, 2012
- Alex Hall announces that Spanosa, a moderator, has been promoted to admin in order to help keep the forum orderly while Alex works on his film. He is given permission to make any necessary changes. Alex also clarifies that any spoiling content that admins could see are now saved and have been removed from the site until he is ready to continue the ARG.
August 9, 2012
- Prior to this date, a Q&A thread for the more prominent members of the forum was posted. One member was asked "who [they] would kill on the forums and why," as a joke. Playing along, the user posted a list of players with silly reasons for why they would kill them.
- Many users took offense to this question, which prompted an argument. Subsequently, a report was filed to the police regarding "death threats" having been posted.
- InvisionFree removed Within Hubris from its servers soon afterward. Panicked players began contacting Alex Hall hoping he could bring it back, but he announced that it was impossible, as well as that no back-ups were available. Within Hubris, and most of its content, is lost forever.
August 10, 2012
- Around 1:00am, a new version of Within Hubris is created by Kafeite, with help from other members. The new version, created using several archived threads, has no ties to the ARG canon, but houses several things that were able to be recovered from the original site.
- Alex Hall, despite having been invited, has not made an account on "Newbris."
- Over time, Newbris evolved from a recreation of the original to a general interest forum.
Finding Your Method
April 23, 2019
- Around 12:00pm, Alex Hall uploaded an introduction video to his new podcast series The Digital Fireside, a sort of prologue to Methods of Revolution. While otherwise unrelated, it contained the following tags:
- The Digital Fireside, Digital Fireside, Methods of Revolution, Ben Drowned, Alex Hall, Why are you reading this, Technology, career, social, education, internet, social media, talking, philosophy, games
June 19, 2019
- At 7:05pm, Alex Hall created a Discord server for his Twitch channel, Brogaming. It also served as a place to discuss his other projects, including the ARG and The Digital Fireside.
March 16, 2020
- Sometime late at night, the BroGaming Twitch channel streamed the creation of several cryptic messages. It is not currently known if this is a canon event, as this stream would later be uploaded to YouTube as a completed video.
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Current Arc Moon Children Arc |
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