Name: Benjamin Manson
Age: 19 years
Appearance:
Benjamin is clad in an untucked, black, long-sleeved dress-shirt and baggy, blue jeans--tattered at the bottom of the pants legs by his leather dress shoes, which, themselves, are black and squared off at the toes. In his possession are two mementos from his grandfather: a rusty, silver "Zippo" brand lighter which rests in his left back pocket, and a strange book of poems and illustrations, whose cover has been rendered completely blank with age. In terms of skin tone, Benjamin is typically fairly light complected (though not completely pale), but with the ample sun of the Spring and Summer seasons, he generally takes on a slightly more bronze tinge. He has a number of small scars on his cheeks and chin--remnants of bad acne--though he is not so badly marred by such blemishes as to be disfigured. Benjamin's dark-brown hair is cut short into the form of a flat top, while his amber eyes seem to be set behind constantly drooping eyelids.
Personality:
In contrast with his appearance, Benjamin is actually surprisingly happy fellow, whose demeanor seems to exude a paradoxical sense of calm energy. Benjamin is well-versed in the treasure-trove of Shakespearean poetry contained in the book given to him by his grandfather, but does not present an air of pretentiousness. He is bright, but not boastful. However, Benjamin does find a flaw in his tendency to over-analyze situations, and in his borderline-dangerous obsessions with various people, both real and fictitious, the likes of which include Charles Marlow, Cory Doctorow, Guy Montag, George Orwell, John Lennon, Leder, and Samuel Tanguay--all of whom have notably written or spoken out on similar themes involving underlying truths or beliefs not widely known by the public. It is clear that Benjamin is not all there mentally, yet his various obsessions--despite the hindrance they pose at times--also contribute to a strange thought process which allows him to both analyze situations and tear apart puzzles and riddles quickly. Benjamin also has a tendency to develop close friendships with others after very brief amounts of time, though these friendships tend to be one-sided affairs.
History:
Benjamin Manson led a somewhat uneventful childhood, finding interest in mazes and riddles during elementary school, and coming home to misunderstanding parents. He did occasionally get himself into trouble due to his curious nature, but never truly dug deeply into a situation until his teenage years, following the questionable death of his paternal grandfather, who left him valuable items in the form of a rare collection of Shakespearean sonnets, and an old and valuable cigarette lighter. With this, at age 16, Benjamin began to do research into the past exploits of his enigmatic grandfather, realizing that, in his prime, he was, in fact, a forensic pathologist with a knack for assisting in the solving of extremely complicated murder cases. Not interested in the forensic aspect of criminology, Benjamin instead found himself drawn toward the career of police detective, and since then, has honed his skills via the study of ancient labyrinths as well as riddles, koans and other such conundrums. Benjamin's intention lies mainly in solving the mystery of the dead grandfather he never truly knew while alive, though the prospect of an interesting riddle can be enough to side-track him into a new mystery.