Ben chooses to not speak because of a incident from when he was in 7th or 8th grade, and this remains in his character throughout the comic. He opts to write in his journal, send text messages, or have his phone read what he wants to say aloud. Ben used to love singing, but had his voice permanently damaged by bullies in school. The incident led him down a spiral of getting into street fights and neglecting school. After finding out that he had anger issues, he started living with Aiden.