Sentinel

*"Some people turn sad awfully young. No special reason, it seems, but they seem almost to be born that way. They bruise easier, tire faster, cry quicker, remember longer and, as I say, get sadder younger than anyone else in the world. I know, for I'm one of them."*
—Ben Jacobson quoting *Dandelion Wine*
**Benjamin Walter "Ben" Jacobson**, is a young superhero and newer member of the Arcadian Rebels known as **Iron Sentinel**. Prior to his death, Ben regained his sense of family with the rest of the Rebels.

When Ben was killed and resurrected in April 2018, he was granted a new, robotic body by Cody Nakamura as well as other superpowers. He also took on the new codename, **Steel Sentinel**.

Steel Sentinel would once again be killed in May 2018 at the hands of Jason Kade, but would mysteriously return nearly a year later with no memory of the events that transpired. He continued to join the Rebels on their missions, and he even developed his own Stand in December 2019. During this time he would meet and grow closer to his soon-to-be best friend, Lincoln Grace. Soon, however, his life began to spiral downwards as he began to overwork himself both with vigilantism and his personal life, unable to consistently balance the two.

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Some Have Mediocrity Thrust Upon Them

Benjamin Jacobson was born on July 12th, 2001. His mother was disappointed because she wanted a girl. His father had supposedly left to pursuit drugs and gambling, but this has only been stated by Ben's mother. Benjamin grew up in a small town near Center City. He used music as an escape from the cruelties of his own life, spending most of his summers and free-time at the local record shop or doing chores at home. One of Ben's least favorite memories is when his mother put a cigarette out on his forehead after only getting 5th in his school spelling bee. The constant fear of emotional and physical abuse has shaped Benjamin into an extremely nervous person, often submissive under any sort of pressure and developing a stutter. Ben would later in life inherit his mother's alcoholism and drink heavily when stressed.

His only friend's name was Finn, whom he met in elementary school, and the two bonded over their love for music. Ben would save up his pocket money, scrounging through couch cushions and under furniture for spare change in order to shop for CD's they'd find at garage sales.

#### Only To Have Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them Later

On December 11, 2013, twelve-year-old Ben was walking home from getting groceries when the Center City Particle Accelerator exploded, causing the birth of superhumans. While he didn't notice it at first, the blast had given him superhuman strength. After discovering his powers at about 14, he began planning to move to Neo Arcadia, away from his mother. He wanted to be near the heroes he'd see on TV passing by the small electronics store, seeing the glimmering costumes and symbols of justice prancing about behind the glass window.

At age 13, Ben would have his first experiments with alcohol, which would come to define him for the rest of his life, spiraling into a severe addiction that haunts him to this day.

#### A New Life

On June 16th, 2017, Ben would get into a drunk driving accident with his friend Finn. This would result in Finn's death, causing Ben to panic and run away from home to Neo Arcadia. He rented a small apartment on the outskirts of town and got a job at the recycling plant to support himself.

### Life as a Vigilante

#### Taking Up a Mantle

Yet, one night, Ben began to hear a commotion outside of his small apartment. Rushing out, he found the results of a superhero's battle, with a dead body lying face down on the street, clad in luxurious armor. Before the police could arrive Ben stole the armor in hopes of becoming a hero. After re-painting it and taking up the name **Iron Sentinel**, he would thwart various small crimes that weren't important enough for the likes of the Arcadian Rebels. After finding him in a small bar, Almanac would recruit Benjamin into the Arcadian Rebels.

#### The Rise of the Opt

After an incident in which Ben's sink flooded, he desperately needed money, or risked being kicked out of his apartment. During this time, Opt contacted him, asking for a body guard of sorts. Ben would reluctantly agree to work with Opt in order to accumulate the money needed. He would only preform one job for him: carrying an illegal shipment of vibranium to Opt's base. They quickly made a small connection, as Benjamin was able to recognize Opt playing Al Bowlly in his fortress. While this may seem like a small, unnecessary detail, it created a feeling of trust and understanding between the two, which would all too soon be exploited and subverted.

After this, Opt would kidnap him and Autumn Stone and preform horrendous experiments on them, before Ben was able to escape with the assistance of Lance White. After rushing to the hospital and stitching up their wounds, Opt would follow them, revealing his goals to exterminate all metahumans. Ben would eventually lose his temper and savagely attack Opt, nearly killing him, but would eventually snap out of it. Opt was sent to prison for a short time, where Ben was able to surmise that he had a traumatic experience with metahumans, which must have been the stem of his hatred.

#### Oops, People Found Out About The Drinking Problem Again

Blaming himself for causing harm to Fish and himself after his first fight with Opt, Ben was left with little ways to cope. He'd once again turn to drinking, because after all, that's how his mother and all the other adults in his hometown dealt with stress. He soon realized this was a mistake and got incredibly drunk, stating: "they make it look cool in movies, but in real life it just makes this sad." Jason and Jess found him in his unstable state, and he would debauchedly rant about his experiences growing up, talking about his tense relationship with his mother and the spelling bee incident. When Benjamin decided to head home, Jason warned him not to drive home in his current state. His response was "I'm flattered. You think I can afford a car?"

The next morning Ben was devastatingly embarrassed when told what he had revealed the night prior, and worried his new friends would pity him. He told Jason and Jess to "just forget about what he said" and pretend nothing had happened.

#### Adoption, AKA The Return Of the Mommy Issues

Eventually, Ben would also tell Autumn about his childhood, this time willingly and sober. She quite spontaneously decided to adopt him, which he agreed to. He still remains someone independent, living and taking care of himself on his own, yet the emotional support alone helps him in spades.

#### Destruction of the Suit

After a while, Opt slowly began carving out allies in Neo Arcadia. One of these allies was Lucanus, Autumn's father. Lucanus was instantly able to spot Ben's timid nature, and targeted him in a fight. After realizing Lucanus had a healing factor, Ben proceeded to savagely combat him, using the element of surprise to nearly defeat him. However, Opt would then reveal himself causing Ben to lose focus. His armor was destroyed in the fight, and Opt and Lucanus were both able to escape.

#### An Arm and A... Well, Actually No, Just an Arm

In another fight with Opt and his men, Ben would be inflicted with a poison from another partner of Opt's, Kage, that would spread throughout his body. He would continue to insist that he was fine and continue fighting, only worsening his condition. When finally arriving at a hospital it was already too late, and Ben needed to remove his left arm due to the poison eroding away at his tissue, making it completely useless.

Ben would receive a cybernetic prosthetic, but he only wears this during missions to avoid drawing attention to himself. He's extremely self-conscious about his absence of a limb, and tries to hide it with his jacket. Ben also fabricated a false story of how he lost his arm for his life as a citizen, claiming it was a workplace accident.

Losing his arm would also cause Ben to spiral into doubt about if his career was really worth it. One of the main reasons he came to Neo Arcadia was to escape his mother after all, but was this any better? Now instead of bruises and the occasional broken arm he was receiving serious bodily mutilation and arguably even worse mental trauma than at home. In fact, he only seems to be staying out of sheer stubbornness and determination to make it on his own, that of course, and being a wanted criminal in the state of Missouri.

#### Cold Blooded Killer

In his final confrontation with Opt, Ben would be the witness of the murder of Jason Kade at the hands of Shin. This would send him into an animal-like fit of rage, brutally assaulting and eventually killing Opt. After coming to his senses, regret would soon consume Benjamin's conscious and tear him up from the inside. He couldn't forgive himself from losing control, and in a sense, he had let Opt win. This made his previous doubts in the justness of his cause seem like a walk in the park. Ben would spiral into a state of self-hatred and trauma, considering running away again multiple times. Benjamin wholeheartedly believed that he was now a monster and a detriment to the Rebels and society as a whole. His drinking problems reached new heights and he had difficulty sleeping.

#### Death

Shortly after what Ben presumed to be his final encounter with Opt, it would be revealed that Opt was in fact alive. Opt would then proceed to torture Benjamin and eventually kill him by throwing him into lava. Ben died as he lived: helpless, abused, alone and in fear. His last conscious moments were spent burning alive, up to his neck in lava. Opt would trap Ben's soul in his amulet as he died.

### Resurrection

After his death, Autumn Stone was determined to find out a way to free Ben's soul from the amulet. The Rebels devised a way, with assistance from Opt and Creon, to free him. However, it would require a sacrifice, as you could not simply take from the amulet, you had to give some sort of energy back in return. They would choose the galactic tyrant, Evro, as their subject. After a heated fight, Matillo would defeat Evro and the ritual was performed, reviving Benjamin Jacobson. His time in the amulet would leave Ben with serious mental trauma, causing night terrors and frequent flashbacks.

#### Steel Sentinel

However, the ritual didn't work perfectly. Ben was left with serious scars and burns all over his body, and his lungs couldn't function properly. This now meant he had to wear an oxygen mask at all times. Cody Nakamura would later construct a robotic suit for Ben, and with his new chance at life, he would take up a new name as the Steel Sentinel.

#### "Creon?"

His immense trauma would eventually cause Ben to develop Dissociative Identity Disorder, with his other personality being eerily similar to that of Creon. In Ben's time of mental fragility Creon was able to take control, shoving Ben into the corners of their mind. Ben was haunted by constant flashbacks of the most traumatic moments of his life, to the point where he couldn't distinguish illusion from reality anymore.

#### Three Days

This new "Creon" would go on to challenge Minato, stating that if he could beat Creon in a fight, he'd give the team three days to try to "fix" Benjamin. Minato would win this, but would soon realize they were fighting a lost cause. Ben would take years of therapy to be brought back to his normal self, let alone three days. Ben's final conscious wish was for Jason to kill him, putting him out of his misery.

#### Death (Again)

"Creon" had reawakened after the three days, and was now seeking revenge. He threatened to kill multiple members of the Rebels. He would eventually hand Jason a gun, simply asking Kade to kill him. Kade initially denied, but would eventually snap, strangling both "Creon" and Ben to death. The two went off in a burst of flames as their heart rate stopping triggered explosives within "Creon's" suit.

### Mysterious Return

Ben returned to Neo Arcadia in March 2019 with no knowledge of the past year's events.

#### Yikes, Forgot To Finish High School

Ben would eventually return to high school under the pseudonym of Benjamin Kant. Here he would eventually meet the group that would soon become the Eagle Eyes, including Nolan Reynolds, Joe Fumero, Olivia Connors and Saiyako Uchiha. While hesitant at first, he would eventually join their group, although at times being emotionally distant towards many of his team members. He would also interact with Lincoln Grace, although they wouldn't become close friends until later.

#### Learning to Trust (Partially)

After a time of displacement in his living situation, Ben would eventually move in with Jason Kade, which in turn would only strengthen their bond. Ben would also meet Olivia Connor, who would help him address his alcoholism and make changes for the better. Ben would also develop a crush on Olivia, although he'd refrain from telling her this, worried about ruining the friendship. When Olivia moved to the moon at the end of the summer, he would eventually relapse in her absence.

#### Cowboy Time

After Ted Kaczynski's Stand-induced apocalypse, Ben and the Rebels would embark on a journey across the country by horseback. Here, Ben would bond significantly with Lincoln Grace, the two's friendship growing over their long trek. On this journey, Ben would visit his home town, and even encounter Joni Jacobson. This would cause Ben to grow increasingly stressed, despite constantly wearing a mask as to not be recognized by his mom. This would culminate when Joni would eventually recognize Ben, causing him to make a run for it and abandon the group. However, Ben would soon become trapped within a Stand known as "Case Of You," and would remain stuck for the duration of the trip to Montana.

### Making Friends

#### Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

Ben would eventually move out of Jason Kade's home, opting instead to live in an apartment with Lincoln Grace. The two of them would even adopt a mysterious pet named "Sufjan," that seemed to have other-worldly origins. Lincoln eventually would also convince Ben to attempt to quit alcohol once more. While the two adjusted to their new life in the apartment, they even unintentionally became co-workers at the Neo Arcadia Times. While Lincoln only delivered newspapers on his bike, Ben would sometimes do the same as well as make a little extra money by fixing the printing machines thanks to his mechanical skills.

#### Maybe the Nazis Are Actually Nice

Ben and Lincoln would become increasingly tangled up in a mysterious plot by Flag of Earth-3. Ben would soon recognize that, unlike many other villains he had encountered, Flag-3 truly meant the best. At times his morals were arguably on par with the Rebels, in different ways, of course. Ben would approach Flag-3 using his King Crimson pseudonym, urging him to seek justice through traditional means. This would be unsuccessful, although it certainly seemed to make an impact on Flag-3.

#### Damn the Dark, Damn the Light, Damn the Fucking Nazis, They Definitely Were Always Bad.

Upon being trapped within Flag-3's Stand "The Chain," Ben witnessed an illusion of Lincoln Grace's death. This would cause him to come close to a mental breakdown and lash out in rage at Flag-3. He would go to Hank's house, dressed in his King Crimson suit, and demolish the building brick by brick. All of this was witnessed by Hank's young son, Maverick, who was forced to watch not only his home destroyed before him but his father beaten within an inch of his life by Ben's Stand, "Add It Up." However, upon seeing the rubble, Ben began to have doubts. He did everything. He made Flag-3 suffer. Why didn't he feel better? Soon, "Add It Up's" automatic tracking would hone in on its own User, bludgeoning King Crimson with his devastating attacks. After all, the person Ben truly had the most grudges against was himself.

#### God, Does My Soul Really Look Like That?

Upon awakening his Stand, Ben began to have repeated incidents where it would threaten to lash out at allies and even himself. It would even attack his best friend, Lincoln Grace, although it did much more good than harm with him, as Ben's memories with Lincoln were overwhelmingly positive. Add It Up proved to be incredibly unruly and near incontrollable. He'd begin to sink into an even deeper sense of self-loathing upon seeing how grotesque the physical embodiment of his mental state was.

#### Hey, Things Are Looking Up For Once!

Ben would begin to enter what thus far has been the happiest time of his life. He and Lincoln began to fall into a routine, their friendship growing closer and closer. Despite some bumps here and there, they built a strong bond of trust, their kindness to one another often being expressed through the act of cooking for one another. Lincoln would push Ben out of his comfort zone, enabling him to make new friends such as Tiara Calinao, and even try out for and be accepted into Neo Arcadia High's varsity baseball team. He would even begin a romantic relationship with Olivia Connor.

### Losing Friends

#### Watching Your Life Crumble Before You Two: The Reckoning

Everything would change on March 21st, 2020. Upon rushing home to tell Lincoln of his acceptance onto the baseball team, he would find their apartment completely abandoned. After a bit of investigating, he would find some sort of box coming from under his bed. Upon close listening, he could hear a ticking noise from within it.

After Ben's apartment burned down, he began to live on Jason Kade's couch again, as Ben's best friend seemingly vanished into thin air. The negatives of Ben's acceptance onto the baseball team began to catch up to him, as his schedule became crammed with work, practice, and school, leaving little time for anything else. Tiresias, an alternate version of his brother, began to assert himself into the Rebels' inner circle, filling him with rage and jealousy. This would be expressed through hurling a billiards ball at Tiresias' head and cussing him out of a bar Ben worked at, promptly causing him to be fired.

All of this, without the support of his best friend, began to weigh on him severely. Yet, Ben still held out hope that Lincoln would be found.

#### Lincoln Grace.

Lincoln would be found after a week of searching. He had no memory of his friendship with Ben, or his allegiance with the Rebels, and was now employed by the Nazis of Earth-3. This sent Ben into a spiral, as he desperately tried to keep the Rebels from harming Lincoln, despite Lincoln's clear intent to inflict harm upon them. He'd even go as far as to attack his own allies as they tried to restrain their brainwashed teammate. Lincoln would eventually be brought back to the Rebels base after much resistance from both him and Ben, and placed within a medically induced coma.

Jason Kade would be furious at Ben's actions on the mission. Ben would likewise be furious at Jason for being so reckless in regards to Lincoln's safety. It was likely for the best that they stopped their brief period of living together again. As Ben packed his things in silence, Jason scolded the young man for his actions. Ben would look up, seeing a hole that Jason had punched in the drywall, as that familiar feeling of dread in his gut returned from the time he spent living with his mother. After what felt like the longest trip to the front door in human history, Ben would vow never to stay at Jason's again.

#### New Dad, Who Dis?

Ben would end up staying that night at Clark Flat's. As Lincoln's father, Clark was the only person Ben trusted would share his grief and judgements about Lincoln's condition. That night, in an effort to silence the nonstop whirling emotions going through his head, Ben would end his two months of sobriety, a decision he would soon come to regret. Over this period, Clark and Ben would grow a close respect for one another, Ben even beginning to see him as a parental figure, and placing large amounts of trust in him. Clark would even manage to get Ben to accept gifts and open up somewhat about his emotions, which is incredibly rare for Ben. Part of the reason for this built trust was Clark confessing that he knew about the incident with Finn, which made Ben begin to feel he could confide in an adult for one of the first times in his life.

#### Things Somehow Get Worse.

Ben's drinking would only worsen as Lincoln somehow escaped from his medically induced coma and escaping from the Rebel base. Ben's life would begin to devolve into a frantic scramble to stay afloat, as obligations with work, school, sports, vigilantism, and his social life seemed to spread him thinner and thinner. Ben's sleep schedule suffered greatly as a result, which then caused him to perform more poorly in his obligations, and even begin to snap at his teammates. All of this stress was only furthered as Tiresias began to cement himself within the social circle of the group, forcing Ben once again into his older brother's shadow.

This would culminate in an evening in which, after witnessing Tiresias working his way into the social circle of the Rebels, Ben would lash out, to the point of even accidentally attacking Leah with Add It Up. This would cause her to be hospitalized and for Ben to be temporarily suspended from the Rebels, causing him to go through a meltdown.

Then, while assisting the Rebels in a mission by using his King Crimson pseudonym, the worst happened. Not only was Lincoln brainwashed and attacking them again, but now, Olivia Connor had been taken in by the Reich and manipulated as well. Ben would ultimately have to assist in subduing both Grace and Connor, causing him tremendous guilt, feeling as if he had "betrayed" then and harmed the ones he loved most physically.

All of these feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy only caused Ben's drinking and self-destructive behavior to worsen. Even when Olivia and Lincoln returned to their former selves, these tendencies stuck.

Ben and Lincoln began to slightly drift apart during this time, also known as Ben's worst nightmare. As Lincoln's mental health began to slip, Ben would frantically begin working more hours in order to pay for his friend's therapy sessions, which ironically put an even further dent in their relationship as Ben was unable to spend time with his friend as much. This would ultimately lead to Ben deciding to quit the baseball team in order to lighten his responsibilities and spend more time with the people who cared about him. Nonetheless, his insane work schedule remained, as he held down three part-time jobs and got very little sleep each night. Ben's mental stability grew thinner and thinner through terrifying encounters with the likes of 21 Silver: Act III and Tia Calinao, putting him constantly on edge.

Ben hit his "rock bottom" (at least so far) when it came to his unhealthy working habits when he realized how much it had been affecting those around him, such as Olivia Connors and Lincoln Grace. Being grounded for a period of a few days began to help Ben establish a somewhat normal sleep schedule.

### Some Reach For The Stars, Others Stay on Soil

Not much is known about Ben's activities during the Rebels' time on the Odyssey. He stayed behind and presumably focused on his schoolwork. However, one would imagine that Ben went through a great deal of stress during this time, as much of it was uncanny to the events involving Ice Gear going wild while the Rebels were away chasing Roger David.

#### An Entertaining Romp!

Sentinel underwent a severe amount of trials and stress while the Rebels chased after The Entertainer. One of the most notable of this was the kidnapping and near death of Stella, which forced Ben to drive a car for the first time in three years.

It was during this mission that Sentinel was able in many ways to prove himself as a vigilante. Sentinel played a major role in solving many of the various mysteries, and was able to rescue Stella through piecing together clues from Remembrance's visions. He was also able to piece together various pieces about the timeline and how the killer performed his tasks, such as using a tracker in the police van given in order to find the Rebels' secret identities.

#### Song of the Sea

After succumbing to his drinking habits once more, Ben would be drugged and stamped with a mark of a siren upon his chest. Following this Ben would go into a coma-like state, with a rapidly changing heart rate. During this time he would primarily be watched over by Johnathan Jacobson and Clark Flat.

#### Wizard College

Ben began attending Beacon Academy in September of 2020 and subsequently flunked out within a month.

## Personality

*"I'm such a shitty person that it's hard not to. I wish I wasn't so quiet and could make friends. I wish I didn't have this stupid fucking stutter that makes me seem like an idiot. I wish I was a better son and a better friend. I wish I wasn't so selfish and looked out for other people, not just myself. I'm so incapable of doing anything good. I just drag people down to my level, and the guilt I feel for it is immeasurable. I keep trying to tell myself that this is only temporary. That when I'm older, and more independent, I won't be such a burden. That I'll be able to help people, and give back. That I'll finally make other people happy for a change. But I know I'm lying to myself. I'm always going to be this way."*
—Ben Jacobson[src]
The most prominent piece of Ben's personality is his harsh criticism of himself. He constantly beats himself up for small mistakes, and unrelentingly blaming himself for problems. This stemmed from the harsh criticism fed to him by his mother, shaping him into a perfectionist. Small things like causing a loss of a baseball game or not being able to "pull his own weight" can cause Ben to spiral into self-loathing. He also sometimes tends to almost purposefully put himself in stressful and difficult situations in an attempt to enact retribution upon himself. Some examples of these include keeping the knife given to him by Tia Calinao as a reminder of his failures as a person on him at all times, as well as working in a bar. Despite the agony that being a recovering alcoholic who works in a bar brings him, he shoulders the burden regardless.

Ben grows easily frightened and stressed, and often panics during missions. Usually he relies on Lincoln Grace or Olivia Connor to calm him down, otherwise he'll freak out and be unable to function. He had a compulsive nature to swear when things start to go downhill, doing things like repeating "fuck" or "shit" over and over.

Ben finds it difficult to place his trust in people, due to the fleeting nature of many of his previous friendships. He worries that somehow he'll sabotage his own relationships, causing his friends to hate and abandon him. His trust issue as well as his heightened criticism of himself causes him to be very judgmental of people outside of his close-knit circle, though he almost entirely keeps these judgments to himself. This can often cause him to grow incredibly over-protective of those he does trust, to the point of obsession.

This often gets on the nerves of Lincoln Grace, who grows frustrated with Ben's "mom-friend" mannerisms, such as when he reminds him to do small things like brushing his teeth or pesters him if he doesn't eat a lot. This last one is an especially common habit of Ben's. Growing up in a home with little food and infrequent meals, Ben grows anxious and stressed if Lincoln doesn't get proper nutrition.

One of Ben's primary mechanisms of showing affection and compassion is by gift-giving. He likes to do things for others, such as odd chores, getting people things, and making meals for others. This is mostly because Ben struggles to express his care otherwise, both due to his stutter, and the lack of verbal communication in regards to emotion that he grew up with. This can almost tend to become compulsive, such as when he felt almost an aching need to vacuum Leah Caverly's house after a party. When he fails to accomplish these gifts, such as when the flowers he planned to give to Olivia Connor got crumpled in his bag, he becomes incredibly disheartened and often sees it as a reflection of his own inadequacy.

This fixation on materialism is another prominent piece of Ben's psyche. Ben pays very close attention to wealth, specifically the gaps between him and many of his teammates. At house parties, especially decadent ones, he often grows easily intimidated and will avoid touching them, worrying he'll "ruin them" somehow. He also will desperately try to hide any signs that he might be perceived as poor.

Benjamin, as a teenager going through puberty, has a very loose grip on his emotions. He has difficulty controlling himself in situations when his self-restraint was put to the test. Ben is, of his own admission, "noticeably very timid" and often "painfully awkward." Ben's history of physical abuse often means he's easily startled by loud noises and physical contact with others. It also makes physical contact often difficult for him. Ben, unless panicked, will almost always ask permission before making physical contact. Ben also can extremely easily lash out at friends and allies, even getting violent with them or cussing them out.

Ben has a few noticeable patterns of body language that he often repeats. It's incredibly rare for Ben to make direct eye contact with someone, and he tends to either pace back and forth or rub his arm when he's feeling anxious or stressed out, and while he used to tug on his sleeve, he has mostly stopped after Lincoln Grace gifted him a fidget spinner. He also has a habit of zoning off into space for long periods of time, this is usually because of one of two reasons. The first of these is that he'll often trigger memories from his difficult childhood, that will cause him to need to take a minute to collect himself to avoid a panic attack. The second of these is that Ben is a high-functioning alcoholic, Ben is very frequently drunk to some degree, which can cause his reaction times to slow, hence the large periods of silence.

Ben also has an extremely difficult time accepting gifts, especially when they feel like "handouts" to him. He'll often try to deny them, but usually caves. Accepting what he defines as "handouts" severely damages his pride and self-esteem by decreasing his sense of independence and making him feel like a burden to those around him.

Ben is usually a somewhat serious person who doesn't joke around much, the exception being when he spends time with Lincoln Grace or his other close friends. Ben will often joke about gangs, often throwing signs and deeming himself "Benny G." In Center City, along with the Turchino Mafia's influence, Ben occasionally observed acts of gang violence as he grew. Ben jokes about these gangs as a way of coping with it.

Despite his social impediments, Ben is a very determined and dedicated hero. According to his brother John, Ben's motivation for helping and saving others was out of empathy and a sense of caring. In contrast to Kade, Ben realized it was not his duty to help people, but rather he just wanted to. His approach to justice was Care Ethics, which focuses on the relationship between the person who is caring for someone and the person who is cared for.

Care Ethics rejects universalized principles for how to make judgments or how to act. Everything is contextualized within the given relationship. Important practices include respect, empathy, and attention to the needs of others. Ben knowingly chose to enter a relationship of care with people who will never be able to entirely reciprocate and maybe do not deserve it.

*"D-D-Duty supersedes d-duh-d-desires."*
—Ben Jacobson
Ben does not pursue a defined goal (other than making the world a better place) or hold firm to certain universal principles like Kade's idea that killing is always wrong or Clark Flat or Sam Fakashami's belief in the American Way. He responds, as needed, to the needs of those he cared for. He makes a choice to love them. His belief in love is not a meaningless platitude, but rather a declaration of his commitment to a particular state of mind and action that guided his decisions as a hero. He recognizes the complex nature and individual differences in humans, and rejects Kade's concept of "deserving."

However, Ben is not completely selfless in his actions. A large part of Ben's motivation for doing good deeds is that it makes him "feel like a good person." After growing up often feeling like a burden or that his actions only hurt others, he craves a sense of appreciation or moral righteousness. He's motivated by a sense of guilt of not fulfilling his duty to others. He attempts to make up for this through his vigilantism and validate his sense of self. This is especially seen through his almost compulsive need to help clean things. He feels often like it's the only way to prove himself as helpful.

Throughout Ben's life, he went through several parental figures or guardians. Joni would take care of Ben for most of his childhood but after Ben ran away to Neo Arcadia, he was taken under the wing of Autumn Stone, then the mayor, Aranza Whitemore, then Jason Kade, and then Clark Flat. With each new figure, Ben would develop a close bond to each parent figure only for something to happen which would often result in a disconnection. Over a period of time, this damaged Ben's ability to trust "adults" or older individuals.

Ben's ritual of constant cleaning also signifies another key part of his personality: control. Ben feels like he has no control over his life, and seeks to gain that control in minimal ways. Moving books, even if only the slightest bit. Constantly cleaning. More sinister instances, like when Ben ripped down Hank Keller's house. These all made Ben feel a long-lost sensation of being in control. Of being in charge.

(See Creon for other personality)

## Physical Appearance

Benjamin is about 5'6" with a very skinny build, though since moving in with Lincoln Grace he has been bulking up significantly due to consuming an excessive amount of protein powder. He has dirty blonde hair (which he rarely bothers to comb, giving him near constant "bed head,") bright blue eyes and a very childlike face. He was somewhat lucky in the fact that he doesn't get much acne, and even when he does, he can usually cover it with his hair. He had various scars littering his body from various missions, most notably being a large burn mark crawling up from his right hand to his elbow and the small dot on his forehead from the spelling bee incident. He has a large scar in his chest from when he was stabbed during his final confrontation with Opt, and a noticeable burn mark on his back and the back of his neck from when his apartment burned down. He's missing twelve of his permanent teeth due to his Tooth Bullet technique, leading to several gaps in his smile. Lately, due to lack of sleep, he tends to have dark circles under his eyes and pale skin as a result.

Ben rarely changed his outfit on account of only having a few sets of clothes. He had a strange tendency to burn outfits if he has a traumatic experience within them in some sort of poor attempt of catharsis, and also on the account that he had no way to wash the blood out of the material. At the moment he tends to wear a large red sweater that Tiara Calinao stitched him with a light blue T-Shirt underneath and jeans. Since the Rebels' search for The Entertainer, Ben wears a hoodie with the "bloods" sign across the front. His shoes are a few sizes too small for him, and it takes him several minutes in the morning to cram his shoes into them. They're also incredibly worn, with the soles of the shoes being nearly detached from the toe, as well as being generally scuffed and torn in various places. If he's coming back from baseball practice, sometimes he'll wear his cap or his cleats. He hates wearing his cleats even more than he hates his usual shoes. He's lately tended to borrow one of Olivia Connor's scarves, despite warm weather.

### Add It Up Appearance

The appearance of Add it Up is described as "inverted, wearing an armor of bone on the outside that protects the inner layer of raw, pulsing muscles." It has a massive ball-and-chain around its leg and has a coarse, gargled voice, as if it's choking on something. It smells like cheap malt liquor and road-kill. The prominence of the liquor smell seems to directly coincide with how much Ben has been drinking, or wanting to drink. Sometimes, when Sentinel is especially infuriated, bodily fluid will ooze from the muscles of Add It Up, coating the skeleton exterior in a thin layer of blood and mucus, and sometimes the bones will even snap into strange spikes across its body, almost mimicking brass knuckles on its hands with these. It seems the angrier that Sentinel is, the more putrid Add It Up's appearance and stench will be.

## Powers and Abilities

*"His main power is super strength, his muscles are super dense so even though he looks skinny, he can lift cars, train carts, boulders, things like that... and then he has this other power that not many people know about. He can summon this little demon that's all his grudges packed into a little monster, and whoever he's mad at when he summons it, that little demon viciously attacks that person."*
—Lincoln Grace to Odo Rowell
### Powers

*"Imagine l-l-living in a w-world of glass. Everything y-y-you touch breaks. And you c-c-can't tell anyone why."*
—Ben Jacobson to Jason Kade
* Ben, easily lifting 400 pounds.
* Ben, easily lifting 400 pounds.
1/2
* **Superhuman Strength:** Ben's genes were altered by a flood of dark matter that inexplicably instilled in him incredible superpowers, the most frequently-used being his superhuman strength, which greatly bely his slim figure and short stature. He is stronger than a gorilla; he first discovered his powers when he punched a hole in a tree, and broke his bedside stand along with his alarm clock when he tried to hit the snooze button the next morning as well as his sink. He effortlessly broke his pencils in two and penetrated his wooden desk at school, and broke his dining room table while furiously writing in his journal. Because of his newfound superhuman strength, he could attack people with massive amounts of force. It's been shown to be efficient enough to cause minuscule earthquakes in solid ground and fight off against other superhuman opponents. One of the most impressive feats he has preformed was shattering the armor of a villain named Famine with his bare hands, the chest piece being about 3000 pounds. However, in doing so he overexerted himself, breaking both arms. He would later top this, demonstrating the ability to lift up to three tons, despite this causing him to once again receive sufficient injuries. His strength later proved sufficient to compete with the mighty Evan Broxton, and even nearly mastering him up until the latter transformed. He was also able to deal meaningful damage to Thunder Storm, despite the latter's godly endurance, albeit he was empowered by rage at the time. Ben's cheek muscles alone demonstrate the strength to launch small objects at incredibly high speeds, almost comparable to that of a bullet.
* **Superhuman Durability:** While at first glance it may seem physically impossible for someone of his size to generate such incredible force, his bone and muscle tissues are incredibly dense, which allowed him to utilize his superhuman strength. Ben would often be able to tank hard hits, sometimes even continuing to fight after being hit with bullets and energy blasts. Ben's excess density is also the cause of his massive tolerance for alcohol, like a horse.
* **Superhuman Speed:** Ben's dense muscles allow him to exert great force in his movements to achieve a level of superhuman speed. He can run at 30 mph, meaning he can run a mile in two minutes. He was able to even keep up with cars through a series of long jumps, although, this could only be kept up for a short period of time.

### Add It Up

*"HACK-ACK-ACK-ACK IT APART!"*
—Add it Up
Ben has the ability to utilize a Stand named "Add it Up," an embodiment of Ben's pent-up rage and poor self-image. It has below-average precision, average speed and potential, and above-average durability, range and power. The extent of its power is unknown, but it surpasses all other Stands, including 21 Silver Act II-III, Elchulus, Led Zeppelin Act III, Soldier's Son and The Wall, and comparable only to Led Zeppelin Act IV.

Add It Up is an automatic Stand, meaning it grants the User lackluster control of its abilities. Ben cannot control who Add It Up targets once it is summoned, to the extent where Add It Up has attacked Ben himself before. The Stand has been shown to have tremendous range, reaching from Neo Arcadia all the way to Center City, a distance of roughly 900 miles. Add It Up has only attacked seven people thus far. Joni Jacobson, Hunter, Leah Caverly, Almanac (after he had attacked Lincoln Grace while possessed), Flag-3 (after Ben saw Lincoln die while trapped within The Chain), Lincoln Grace (although it miraculously actually healed more than it harmed) and Benjamin Jacobson himself (after the regret that promptly ensued after taking his anger out on Flag-3.)

* **Anger Empowerment:** Add It Up targets people based on the grudges of the User. It only tends to attack the person which the User has the most resentment towards at a given time, and the stronger these grudges are, the stronger its punches will become. Add It Up's attack consists of a flurry of punches, each of which brings a flashback of a memory that the User has shared with the target. Positive memories the User has shared with the target will heal the target, while negative memories damage the target. It should be noted that Add It Up does not throw a punch for every single memory the User has with the target, and thus it's unknown how it chooses the memories in question. It could potentially be random, or, it could potentially choose the most "prominent" memories.
	+ **Superhuman Strength:** Add It Up is able to deliver punches with superhumanly strong force. While its power varies depending on just how angry it feels, it has the potential to kill an average person with only a few hits. It was able to knock out a full grown man like Tiresias in a single blow, as well as put Reverie in a comatose state.
	+ **Superhuman Speed:** While Add It Up has slow reaction time and footspeed, it can move much more quickly when it is angered. It was able to intercept Almanac, one of the most skilled athletes in the world. Its striking speed also becomes much faster after its first punch.

### Former Powers

* **Robotic Physiology:** Ben's new body was constructed to be more durable than he already was, while simultaneously allowing him to breathe.
	+ **Enhanced Stamina:** Although wearing his outer shell was mandatory for breathing, Ben did not require hydration or sleep as his robotic physiology does not produce fatigue.
	+ **Flight:** Former versions of Sentinel's suits allowed him to fly.

### Abilities

*"You fight well."*
—Minato
* **Skilled Combatant:** Ben was a self-taught fighter. While having no formal training, he had shown to be able to keep up in fights based on pure combat knowledge and instinct, although he had learned some basic grappling skills from his friend Finn in order to cope with repeated incidents of bullying in the 5th grade. He had received proper training in Boxing from Almanac to improve his coordination. He later kept up in fast-paced duel with the speedster Minato, and received commendation on his skills. He would later undertake lessons in Taijutsu from Minato, as he was smart enough to know it would behoove him to expand his fighting repertoire, but only after adjusting to his new robotic body. Following his mysterious return, Ben appears to have retained his hand-to-hand combat training as he dominated the infected Evan Broxton in a duel and only lost the upper hand when the latter resorted to one of his more powerful transformations. When defending his best friend Lincoln, Ben managed to surprise attack Thunder Storm.
* **Skilled Acrobat:** Due to his youth, Ben is somewhat quick and agile. He would occasionally incorporate gymnastics in his fights, but mostly used them to escape.
* **Keen Intelligence:** Ben is a (somewhat) bright young man with aptitudes in deception, mechanical engineering, medicine, and Morse Code. However, Ben often struggles with academics. Despite being relatively comfortable with mathematics, he often despises language arts, history, and sciences, mostly because he associates them with his older brother. Ben gets mostly C's and D's on his report card. Ben also scored a 1080 on his SAT. If Ben did not have responsibilities such as work and vigilantism on top of school, this would likely be higher. The one subject he tends to excel at is math, which he gets solid B's in despite not doing much homework. Ben is even able to do his Pre-Calc homework without a calculator, mostly using his head or counting on his fingers. Despite applying to many local colleges, Ben was only accepted into Neo Arcadian Community College, mostly due to his poor test scores and grades. Ben's memory is also very hit or miss. He can't remember what a "theme" is, or what day of the week it is, and fails various tests that rely upon memory, but, can also upon hearing just a few notes of a song, recall who made it, what the title is, when it was released, and when he first listened to it. He displayed this skill while watching a movie that contained "And You And I" by Yes.
	+ **Skilled Deceiver:** Ben became incredibly good at lying from an early age, as growing up, often relying upon it to avoid getting yelled at or hit by his mother. Ben is able to easily lie with a straight face and is often convincing in his tone and body language.

*"Programming makes a lot of sense to me, and I'm starting to work out the basics. I hope if I do well in school, maybe mom will be forced to pay attention to me. To stop comparing me to John."*
—Ben Jacobson[src]
* + **Skilled Engineer:** Ben had natural technological prowess. Gaining a solid mechanic basis from working at an auto-repair shop as a child, he would soon be able to modify and create his own advanced combat suits. He used a process called reverse-engineering to understand his watch, an amalgam of advanced technology; by closely examining the individual parts of technology making up the watch, Ben understood what it does and how it does what it does. Along with having basic automotive skills, Ben picked up several homeowner skills which he used to repair plumbing, drywall cracks, and water damage when his apartment took damage from Jirou. Clark has described Ben as "a great mechanic."
	+ **Skilled Physician:** Ben is able to successfully help treat mild to moderate wounds with the first aid kit. While performing complicated surgery has demonstrated as beyond his capabilities, he can still help with smaller tasks, such as bandaging up and disinfecting wounds.
	+ **Skilled Investigator:** Ben possesses amateur yet successful detective skills, as he was able to understand the Entertainer's plan more than most of the Rebels. He was able to correlate the Entertainer's obsessive habits and "cycles" of killing with the constantly looping "Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd, where the album can be played on repeat seamlessly.

*"I'm starting to teach myself Morse Code through books in the school library. I don't know. Feels like a fun thing to know. I like knowing I can communicate with other people without constantly fucking tripping over my goddamn words."*
—Ben Jacobson[src]
* + **Bilingualism:** Ben speaks his native English (albeit with a stutter) and knows Morse Code. He is able to type Morse Code at such a fast rate that a morse-to-speech device will convert the code into words at a relatively normal speaking rate, albeit a slow one at that. He has been trying to teach himself Moonese, but can only say a few phrases in it. These being "hello" and "I love you."

## Weaknesses

*"Rage was his fuel."*
—Creon
* **Human Vulnerabilities:** Despite his durability, Benjamin is not invulnerable. He can generally be killed by normally fatal blows to the head, throat, and heart.
* **Poor Endurance:** Carrying around nearly four hundred pounds of muscle often leads to Ben getting easily tired, especially when doing cardio-based activities.

*"He's a workaholic too, but he has his flaws too. He struggles with drinking, and he hates cars, he hates being in them, even getting too close to one, but he's a great mechanic."*
—Clark Flat to Joni Jacobson
* **Overworked:** Ben, holding down three jobs with varying schedules as well as desperately trying to stay afloat in school, as well as now playing varsity baseball, often gets minimal sleep and is usually very tired. He does not usually consume caffeinated beverages as he's worried he'd get addicted to them in a similar fashion to his alcohol consumption, but lately, he's succumb to drinking caffeine as well.
* **Poor Emotional Control (Anger Issues/Anxiety):** His emotions are also extremely easy to manipulate, and he can quickly give up if he becomes overwhelmed by negative feelings. Benjamin can often be pushed over the edge and sent into blind fits of rage which tire him out incredibly quickly and cause him to make rash decisions. When pushed to the edge, Ben can grow incredibly short-tempered, lashing out at even those closest to him. This has caused him to attack even his own teammates, such as Cassiel and Reverie when emotionally vulnerable. Ben of course, is also an incredibly anxious person, and this can make conversations or combat incredibly difficult.
* **Amaxophobia:** Ben has a crippling fear of being in any sort of moving vehicle due to his past trauma with automobile accidents. It causes him to go into a state of panic, in which he will do nearly anything to escape it. This is especially inclusive of cars. This means any attempt to drive a motorized vehicle will likely lead in disaster.
* **Pyrophobia:** While less notable and deeply rooted than his amaxophobia, Ben has recently developed a fear of fire after his and Lincoln Grace's apartment burned down, leaving his body with several severe burns. He likes to stay far away from fires, especially those on the ends of cigarettes or cigars. He will sometimes request that lit cigarettes or cigars be held away from him, as he's paranoid about them burning him somehow.
* **Confrontation:** Ben is extremely afraid of confrontation, worrying that his friends could lash out and abandon him if conflict grows. He'll often avoid bringing up difficult topics out of fear that it could make others angry with him. There are some exceptions to this, however, as he has little hesitance in cussing people out when they pose a threat to those he loves most, or simply talk poorly of them.
* **Stutter:** Ben's stutter can make communication in vital moments incredibly difficult, as well as an annoyance for many. He is also extremely self cautious about his stutter, and if any stranger asks about it, or even mocks it, Ben will often lash out, and later isolate himself. Ben is currently engaging in speech therapy to help with his stutter.
* **Alcoholism:** Ben's addiction to alcohol means he can't go for more than a few days without alcohol without suffering major withdrawal symptoms, which would harshly affect his ability to function as a vigilante, let alone as a normal citizen. Even if he were to quit, the disease would continue to manifest itself in his psyche in other ways, such as lying or lashing out at the people he loves. Ben's alcoholism also impacted his financial stability. He would spend excessive amounts of money on whiskey from each paycheck, leaving a small budget for food, clothes, and other necessities, as noted by having only a few sets of clothes. Ben's alcoholism has also taken a toll on his memory, making it hard for him to retain information.
* **Criminal Background:** Being wanted for vehicular manslaughter in the state of Missouri limits Ben's living options substantially. Having to make fake ID's, not be able to open bank accounts, and stay out of the public eye in his civilian identity are some of the things he must do to avoid being brought to justice.

## Techniques

* Single
* Double

* **Brute Force:** Ben's extreme strength and durability often leads to sloppy technique. He relies on these heavily, using them as a crutch in almost all of his fights. Without them, Benjamin would without a doubt contribute little in combat. Ben's fighting style mostly revolved around single, powerful blows. He occasionally uses fake-outs on his opponents or use basic Judo techniques, but for the most part just uses simple punches and kicks. Ben often uses objects in his environment to throw at enemies, but rarely goes any further than this when it comes to strategy.
* **Teeth Bullets:** In desperate situations, Ben can dislodge his teeth from his own mouth using his superhuman strength in his tongue. He can then spit these out at superhuman speeds, acting essentially as bullets. However, he obviously has a limited supply of these. He's used this twelve times so far, leaving his smile riddled with gaps. He is VERY insecure about this.
* **Big Ol' Gust O' Wind:** Ben can channel his superhuman strength into his diaphragm, allowing him to let out an extremely strong exhale, comparable to a strong gust of wind. However, this causes his lungs to become incredibly weak afterwards due to exhaustion, and often puts him out of commission for a fight.

- **Just Throwin' People Really Fast:** While teaming up with Almanac, Sentinel threw his teammate at an opponent like a spear, allowing for Almanac to attack with high speed and power, and close distances quickly.

- **Lend Me A Hand:** In a team technique with Banner, 21 Silver will use its Chains ability to detach its hands, then place them on Sentinel's own. It will then use its Iron Fist ability, causing the detached fists to glow orange and give off heat, allowing Sentinel to hit with his own super strength but also with incredible heat that can potentially burn opponents.

- **Redirection:** In a team technique with Banner, (although only used or thought of in a dream,) Sentinel will throw a steel ball, only for Banner to use 21 Silver to redirect the momentum of the object mid-flight, enabling it to potentially hit multiple targets as well as be more accurate.

## Equipment

### Attire

* **Steel Sentinel Suit:** Ben's primary suit, which has gone through several renditions. The latest of these was made by Saul Collins. It has a slick black appearance, a somewhat gnarled blue cape, and a utility belt containing his weaponry and gadgets.
* **Gear Slayer Suit:** Ben would eventually upgrade his suit in order to deal with the onslaught of corrupted Gears brought about by Evan Broxton's yellow fever. This suit was primarily made out of a thick rubber, as to be able to tank electrical hits due to its non-conductivity, as well as a plethora of gadgets such as flamethrowers, med-packs, tasers, and a massive UV light stored within each of his shoulder pads. It was also significantly lighter than his other suits of armor, allowing him to be more mobile. The suit also retracts into a small backpack that allows Ben to switch from civilian clothing into his costume at a moment's notice. This suit was destroyed while fighting angels on the way to save Andrew.
* **Myth Buster:** The Myth Buster is a suit constructed by Arianna and Andrew Lavellan for Sentinel. It draws from both Umbran Witch and Lumen Sage powers to operate. It draws on Ben's metahuman abilities for fuel, so within the suit, his super strength and durability are weakened, at the expense of being able to partially utilize Umbran and Lumen techniques.
* **King Crimson Suit:** Ben's costume used for fighting with the Eagle Eyes and for what he deems "special occasions." Has a regal design, very similar to his brother's, but with less functionality than the Gear Slayer Suit, however it provides significantly better defensive capabilities due to its metal design. Ben noticeably uses this when talking with Flag-3 in order to intimidate him. Ben now hates to wear this suit, thinking it brings out his worst side. He'll still wear it if he needs to do something he doesn't want to get in trouble for if he were to use his Sentinel suit, or if he's feeling especially angry.

### Weaponry and Gadgets

* **First Aid Kit:** Ben carries around a first aid kit in his bag at all times in case of an emergency.
* **Steel Ball:** In his latest suit created by Saul Collins, four steel balls were placed on the utility belt that could be thrown as projectiles. Two are about the size of baseballs and two are about the size of marbles. This was included as an attempt to stop Ben from using his "teeth bullet" technique.
* **Pocket Knife/Fidget Spinner:** A "gift" from Tiara Calinao. Ben does not intend to ever use it. He simply keeps it as a constant reminder to himself. Of what, only he can truly know. This pocket knife has since been morphed into a fidget spinner by 21 Silver. It has two tally marks etched into it by Tiara Calinao, signaling that Ben is at "two strikes."
* **Ring-Pop:** A gift from Olivia Connor. Blue-raspberry flavor. Ben refuses to take it off under any circumstances.

#### Former

* **Fidget Spinner:** Lincoln Grace gifted Ben a fidget spinner to use when he begins to grow stressed, stating that "if you keep tugging on your sleeves, soon you'll only be wearing vests." Lincoln had originally gotten one from his mother, which Lincoln then gave to Ben. Ben later gave this to Maverick Keller to help with the young boy's fidgeting.

## Relationships

* Joni Jacobson - Mother
* John Jacobson/Lonely One/Creon † - Brother

Allies* EPF
* Arcadian Rebels
	+ Jason Kade/Almanac - Teammate
	+ Clark Flat - Teammate, Father Figure
	+ Olivia Connor/Stella - Girlfriend and Teammate
	+ Aranza Whitmore/Doctor Rogue † - Teammate
	+ Lincoln Grace/Wolf Ranger - Best Friend, Teammate and Roommate, Blood Brother
	+ Thunder Storm/White Lotus - Teammate and Boss
	+ Leah Caverly/Reverie - Teammate and Boss
	+ Andrew Lavellan/Lumen Sage - Good Friend
	+ Tia Calinao
* Hank Keller - Former Enemy, Now They're Chillin'
* Opt †
* Jemma Sparks - Girlfriend's Asshole Ex
* Trevor Miller - Girlfriend's Asshole Stalker
* Jess Connor/Anima Libera
* Hans Kelvmer †
* Hans Kelvmer (Earth-3)
* Enrique Hernandez - Creeps Him Out, Gives Off Bad Vibes

## Trivia

* Ben's favorite books are *Franny and Zooey* by J.D. Salinger and *Dandelion Wine* by Ray Bradbury.
* Ben's favorite movie is *Alien*. One of his only fond memories of his mother was when she rented it on VHS for him at Blockbuster, and they stayed up an hour past his bedtime to watch it. He also enjoyed *Jaws* and *Halloween.*
* Ben's favorite food was baked potatoes because of how filling and nutritious they are, but his new favorite food is barbecue ribs, especially made by Lincoln Grace. He also loves seafood and plums. He used to hate spicy things but has grown to like them more over time.
* Ben has a surprisingly good singing voice, though he is far too embarrassed to use it. He is a low tenor and knows basic sight reading thanks to Lincoln Grace teaching him music theory. Like others with stutters, Ben does not stutter when he sings, though due to his shyness, few have heard him sing yet. One of his favorite songs to sing is "II. Solar System" by The Microphones, which he sang to a comatose Lincoln Grace. The only (conscious) person who Ben has openly sung to is Olivia Connor.
* Ben has an Earth-5621 counterpart.
* Ben actually needs glasses, but has to rely on his poor eyesight due to his former pair breaking. This is why he often needs to squint to see things.
* Ben's undernourishment was the reason it took him multiple years to develop super powers, despite his exposure to the Center City explosion.
* Ben can be somewhat condescending when it comes to art, often scoffing at books, music or movies he deems "below his tastes." He notably showed disdain towards the "Tom Clancy" book series.
* Ben's Stand, "Add It Up," is a reference to the Violent Femmes song by the same name. Its Stand Cry is taken from a lyric from the Violent Femmes song "Confessions."
* Ben's most prized possessions are his fidget spinner and a box of brand new socks from Clark Flat. The gift was the first time he had ever received clothes that were not hand-me-down's. His sweater gifted to him by Tia Calinao was a close second, but now he's come to hate it, despite wearing it all the time.
* Ben is homophobic.
* Ben hates to drink milk, and is incredibly disgusted whenever someone says the phrase "spoiled milk."
* Ben loves the sound of undoing velcro.
* Ben hates "theater kids," finding them to be annoying.
* Ben has an abnormal pencil grip as to not put too much pressure on his pencils and avoid snapping them when he writes. This is why his handwriting is so illegible.
* Ben's longest period sober was just over months. He stopped drinking on January 12, 2020 and relapsed on March 29, 2020. However, he has attempted to stop drinking once again, and is about two weeks sober as of May 4th, 2020. He quit once more on 4/19/20. Ben as now surpassed his initial record and is going on three months sober, but following the death of Tia Calinao he began drinking again.
* Ben loves putting chips in his sandwiches to add a crunchy texture, even with food like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a meatball sub. His favorite chips are Fritos.
* Ben keeps all his money in jars beneath his bed to avoid leaving a monetary trace, worried if he had bank accounts that the "feds would catch him." He has them sorted into different categories, such as a jar devoted to rent money, food expenses, and his savings for speech therapy. This last one is almost always empty for one reason or another. All of Ben's savings burned in the destruction of his apartment.
* Ben hates apples.
* Ben loves the rain and will stay out in it until his hands go numb from the cold.
* Ben's favorite number is 1.618034, or the Golden Ratio. He doesn't like to bother with any of the decimals after this though.
* Ben originally thought soup was meant to be eaten cold, until Jason told him otherwise.
* Ben's favorite color is green. His least favorite color is purple.
* Ben loved to play "cowboys" as a kid. He liked being the "bad cowboy" because it meant he could see Finn get excited when the good guy won.
* While Ben doesn't often play video games, he takes pride in his skills at "Super Smash Brothers: Melee." He and Finn taught themselves several advanced techniques, such as wavedashing, L-Cancelling, and Smash DI. Ben mains Pikachu in this game, and is confident that he can kick anyone's ass in Melee.
* Ben pronounces "expensive" as "spensive."
* The longest Ben has gone with zero sleep is four days. Ben on average tended to get about five or six hours of sleep each night, but lately, he's been lucky if he can manage to get more than one.
* Ben doesn't know William Shakespeare's first name, so writes his name as "Shake Spear."
* Ben has a liquor license and has worked at several bars, even while being a recovering alcoholic. He sees the act of working at a bar and being surrounded by the temptation as a method of retributional justice.
* Ben doesn't have headphones or a music streaming service, and doesn't have his CD collection anymore, so he listens to music by holding his phone speaker directly up to his ear, and plays his songs on YouTube.
* Ben's theme song is "Home at Last" by HOMESHAKE.

## Music

Ben generally tends to listen to albums in their entirety rather than picking and choosing singles to enjoy. His favorite album is The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones. This aside, Ben does have a few individual tracks he likes over others. Favorite songs include: