Backstory

(Currently working on a comic so rewriting taking place! Backstory details may be slightly different!!)

Ezekiel was born in 1917 to a seamstress mother and coal-mining father in the small, run-down side of an American town. The three constantly lived on the edge of destitution, but they did their best to be happy and make ends meet. Ezekiel was still a young boy when his father found a mysterious old box camera and tested it out on himself and on other objects. To develop a box camera's photos, he had to send it back to the company to be processed and reloaded -- but only a strange address was visible on the camera. A few days after mailing it, he soon vanished in what Ezekiel and his mother assumed to be an accident at work. Only the handful of photos he took were sent back to them. Without his father's income, Ezekiel soon had to drop out of school to support himself and his mother by working several odd jobs full-time. 

When the Depression hit in Ezekiel's teenage years, leaving the family at their lowest, Ezekiel stumbled upon a familiar box camera while on the way home. Could it be the same one as all those years ago? he wondered. After a brief moment of deliberation, he decided to keep it. In between jobs he started to capture the sights around him -- the forests, trains, and architecture he was always captivated by. Ezekiel hesitantly sent the camera to the address once the film ran out, but was pleasantly surprised to receive it fully reloaded and his photos in dazzling quality. His wariness was quickly chased out by excitement that the camera could be his family's ticket out of poverty at last.

Ezekiel continued to slowly improve his skills, becoming good enough to sell some of his photographs and even gaining some recognition. Things were finally looking up. One day, with spirits high, he decided to commemorate his recent success with his mother using the last bit of film in the roll. They sat in front of the camera, his hand on the trigger, when -- "Oh, dinner's ready!" His mother dashed to the kitchen, and the camera went off. Well, I suppose there's next time, he aimlessly thought as he went to get the film developed anyway. 

What happened next felt like slipping into a comfortable dream with no beginning or end, where Ezekiel was quietly spending time next to a crackling fireplace with both of his parents by his side. But he didn't mind, and he couldn't even tell how much time passed when the world suddenly crashed back into view. He blinked, dazed. Ezekiel's surroundings were familiar, yet felt rearranged. His eyes met those of a wide-eyed girl clutching a corner of a ripped photograph. "You... how...?" The girl muttered, wildly looking back and forth between the photo and Ezekiel. Footsteps started echoing from the other side of the room. The girl, still frozen, mumbled some more about how the museum staff was not going to be happy. Museum? After an impromptu escape, the two caught their breath outside. A local newspaper nearby that Ezekiel recognized caught his eye, but the date printed in the corner confirmed the dread in his heart -- it was now 80 years in the future. He was silent for a moment, then turned to the girl with an apologetic smile, introducing himself. "The name's Ezekiel. A pleasure to meet you, miss." She managed a weak smile, replying with her own name. Adelaide. 

The conversation fell into a lull, with Ezekiel struggling to find the words to fill the space with his usual chatter. "That photograph..." Adelaide broke the silence, looking deep in thought and studying Ezekiel's face as though she were trying to discern whether he was real or not. "...it was of you. Well, until I ripped it trying to keep it to study, ah..." Ezekiel wondered how one could accidentally rip a photograph, and Adelaide started to fluster. "N-no, it's not what you think! I'm really interested in mysteries, especially the supernatural sort. You're one of the several unexplained disappearances in this town. I'm forming a theory, but I'm still trying to put the pieces together. But now you're here, and you're alive somehow..."

The two began to walk downtown as Adelaide described drifting rumors of a legendary box camera that supposedly could steal souls and grant one's deepest desires with its photographs. It was all a bit much for the boy to take in. He didn't understand what was going on, but he knew that the first thing to do was getting enough cash to get through the inevitable weeks ahead. After pawning off some now-valuable trinkets that happened to be in his pockets, Ezekiel bought himself a newer camera with plenty of money to spare. He couldn't help but laugh. For once in his life, he was financially stable. But everyone that he once knew was gone. 

Adelaide offered Ezekiel a place to stay the night but he declined respectfully with a smile, assuring her he would be alright. Her brows furrowed with concern, but she didn't pursue the matter further. The two bade farewell with a promise to talk more later. Many hours of self-reflection later in the town motel, Ezekiel felt all he could strive to do now was to travel and fulfill his and his mother's lifelong dream. He resolved to go right back to work in order to save up. Though Ezekiel didn't feel as close to his father, as he disappeared when he was young, he wondered if perhaps his photograph was still out there as well...

Trivia

• Has an amazing sense of direction, just give him a map and he can figure out how to get somewhere immediately--
• Touches or tugs at his scarf whenever he is feeling anxious or thinking hard about something.
• His hat, and most of his other garments were made (and mended) by his mother, who used whatever good fabrics she could spare for his clothes to look nice.
• He has rather calloused hands due to his laborious work in the past.
• Despite being more street smart than book smart, he's pretty gullible and can be easily scammed by taking advantage of his goodwill and manners.
• He hopes to one day run his own bakery after he settles down from traveling.
• Adelaide is convinced that the box camera incident must have had some supernatural side effects on Ezekiel, but he has no idea what she means. 
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• Turns out Ezekiel can now put people into trances via eye contact through any camera lens...
• Has a Mafia AU LOL here's a description: 1935 . Indoctrinated at an early age, Ezekiel had grown into a notoriously efficient young mafioso. A courteous and natural smooth talker, he confronts his targets like old friends he hasn’t seen in years… only with a gun casually resting in his hand that he won’t hesitate to use, albeit somewhat apologetically, if necessary. Recent rumors whisper of him having a deeper motivation underlying his loyalty to the mob...
• His camera looks like this! _{Click for bigger -- details can be simplified if drawn!}
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