About

Everything about Ben, from posture to physical stature to the timid but hopeful look in his big, slate-blue eyes, makes it ridiculously obvious on first sight that he is a boy who has lived a relatively sheltered life. He has been various degrees of ill for much of his life, having been born with an autoimmune deficiency, and so his parents needed to devote quite a lot of attention and care to him growing up, and even after his younger brother Peter was born, he remained the center of their parents' lives - a disparity in the distribution of affection and parental focus which effected Peter more deeply than Ben has yet realized. He senses the friction between himself and his younger brother, but cannot fully comprehend its origins or the reasoning behind it. He yearns for closeness with his little brother and as such, does his best to be non-combative and amicable. And really, he behaves that way towards EVERYONE. He's quiet and shy, but applies a very sincere and earnest effort to making friends and being kind to others, and while he doesn't leave his house all THAT much [exposing himself to germs could always make him very, very sick, after all], he tries to make the most of his time out and about. There aren't many hidden layers to Ben's straight-forward and honest personality, really- he's just a gentle, sweet boy, who tries to be quietly optimistic and upbeat, but sometimes slips into pools of melancholy or loneliness due to his sickness and isolation. He's on state-of-the-art meds these days, and doing a lot better than he did in the past, but he's still not WELL and the constant pressure of chronic illness is hard on him.

  Positive Character Traits

► Gentle and sweet. Ben is just all-around a very soft and kind person, and while his illness might prevent him from doing all that much for someone, he certainly tries his best to help people.
► VERY good memory. He applies it mostly to remembering every little detail about the things that he learns and the tastes and preferences of his loved ones, but the truth is that Ben's got a mind like a steel trap for practically any memorable detail. This makes him very good at trivia games.
► Loves his brother Peter VERY much

  Negative Character Traits

► REALLY, REALLY timid. He just doesn't have the backbone to stand up for himself, and while he has a humanitarian streak and surely MEANS well, he's also not very liable to stand up for anybody in a real fight.
► Because he is so timid, he's also prone to ending-up in the position of quietly pining over unrequited love- something that he unfortunately finds to be a little romantic, if terribly sad.
► Ridiculously naive. His optimistic perception of other people and their intentions puts him at risk.
► Loves his brother Peter VERY much-- and as such, ends up being one of the foremost victims of Peter's subterfuge and manipulation.