ben bio

**Name:** Benjamin "Ben" Hanscom
**Source material:** It (2017/2019)
**Gender:** Cis male
**Age:** 42

**Appearance:** 6'1" and broad. He's got strong arms and he's built firmly, like he's used to carrying things around day in and day out. With a squared jaw and strong cheekbones, it's difficult to imagine him as anything other than ruggedly handsome. Still, beneath rumpled suits and loose shirts, one can still see some residual softness to his form. He wasn't always so athletic, and it shows. It's most noticeable in his face- gentle eyes and a warm smile and soft cheeks. He holds himself a little like he doesn't belong in a given group, constantly on edge. Despite his strong stature, he most often stands in a defensive position- arms crossed over his chest or placatingly in his pockets. He has straight brown hair and deep brown eyes. He looks a little scruffy and likes to have his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Despite any and all healing, there is an unfortunate scar shaped like an H on his abdomen. He tries not to talk about it.

Generally, he likes layers. Tee shirts under plaid overshirts under larger jackets. When he's at a meeting, he cleans up very nicely, but he's not afraid to put on work clothes and get his hands dirty.

**Personality:** He's generally lacking the confidence that his form implies that he has. He can dominate a room if he has to, and is charming enough that he grabs attention anyway. When he's working or in charge of a group, leadership comes surprisingly easy to him. However, when an event becomes more personal, he tends to shrink unless he is certain that he knows what he's talking about. He has a tendency to self-sabotage and will generally refuse to talk until he knows exactly what to say- or, in the rare life or death situation. Shy and sensitive, he's one of the first to offer a hand to people who need it. Family, friendship, and community seem to constantly be the major ideas on his mind. Though emotion is usually his first response, he has an analytical mind, and can pick apart nearly any puzzle given to him if you give him enough time.

**History:** Growing up, Ben was perpetually the New Kid. His family *couldn't* stick around for too long in any given place, especially after his dad died. He and his mom traveled like ants up and down the East Coast, trying to find some form of home and community and income.

Derry was another brief respite. The Hanscoms arrived in the middle of the school year, and between you and him, Ben wasn't convinced that they would stick around until the end of it. It's not like he was hurting for it- Between bullies and social isolation, the New Kid wasn't exactly making friends. He was fine with that- Ben had always been the sort to admire people from afar. Between the girl from class with hair like winter fire, or those kids that could go toe to toe with Henry Bowers and *not* shit their pants, Ben had a lot of people watching on his plate. Besides, he had reading to do, and a town to uncover. Who had time for friends between all of that?

As it turns out, he did. The third scariest day of his life (the first time that he almost died, very narrowly behind the second time that he almost died and the time he nearly got buried alive) was also the fourth best day of his life (behind his first kiss with Beverly Marsh, his wedding, and his reunion with his friends). Somebody, somewhere, was willing to help him. Misery loved company and losers stuck together, and Ben found himself an identity beyond the fat new kid. Much of the summer of '89 was spent doing things that kids shouldn't be doing during the summer, but he was mostly untouchable.

They won. Things fell apart after that.

Bev left. Mike's appearances became rarer and rarer. Eddie moved away, and Richie wasn't *really* the same after that. At his mother's gentle nudging, Ben started looking into a way of building himself beyond his friendship. He said goodbye to the Losers and moved on, becoming the New Kid somewhere else, and becoming somebody else's problem. The only thing that he had was an old yearbook page signed by a name that he couldn't put a face to, and faces haunting his dreams that he couldn't put names to, and scars that must have been from some bully that he blocked from his memory.

They kept moving, and Ben got tired of being the victim. Change was hard, but not impossible. By the time he reached college, he was somebody entirely new- the handsome Ben Hanscom, the new kid on the block that was up to big things. His buildings reached great heights, and by the time he finally settled in upstate New York, he had some semblance of an identity. Still, when he got the phone call from one of the only places that felt like home, it was easy to slip back into his old role. He didn't remember, not at first- he wasn't sure that anybody did, other than Stan.

But, you know this story already. He went back to Derry. He both experienced and got over a lot of trauma really, really quickly. He killed a monster. He buried two of the only people that he could call his *real* friends, and he found somebody to hold when the nights got lonely. The important part was what happened after the fact.

Richie went missing. Mike said that he was asking strange things about old rituals. Ben had a feeling that he wasn't the only one that had an idea of what Richie was looking for. The difference was, Ben *also* had a very good idea of where to find it. He promised Bev he wouldn't be too long before he packed up shop, grabbed a rope and harness, and descended into the pit of what used to be the Neibolt house.

He landed just fine! Though, the fog was new, and he didn't remember the caverns being so *big.* And, his harness was gone when he hit the ground. That should probably be a concern.

**Other info:**
- Writes poetry and doodles in his spare time!
- Still sort of eats his feelings.
- Loves his wife.
- Would like to text his wife.
- Misses his wife.