Submitted by Kent on Tue, 12/14/2004 - 20:56
Posted in
Nickname: Benji
Name: Benjamin Chung Law, Jr.
Race: Vampire
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 08/08/1988, Chinatown LA
Group Affiliations: The Black Veins
Position: Organizer, Leader Pro Tempore
Benji is played by Edison Chen
A photo of Benji, pre-siring (obviously)
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Description
When one surveys the scores of undead beings lurking in Los Angeles, Benji Law doesn't really stick out. If one tries to spot him in a crowd, they won't find a mammoth monster of a man; nor will they find a pretentious "dark master" of the night. What is almost immediately noticeable about Benji is that there is very little to notice. Of average height and slight build, Benji looks like a normal Chinese-American high school student dressed in baggy jeans, skate shoes, and a long-sleeved T-shirt. There isn't anything that the boy possesses that makes him "special" or unique from other teenagers. In fact, if anything, it's what Benji lacks that sets him apart from most of his generation. He lacks two things in particular: life, for one thing, with the second being much of his emotional capacity.
History
Human Life:
Benjamin Chung Law was born into one of Chinatown's lower-middle class families in the late 1980s. His parents Maggie and Benjamin were both second-generation Chinese immigrants, happy to be in America. They tried to make sure that Benji and his younger sister Joy had everything they could ever possibly need despite the family's meager earnings. Benji never completely understood his parents' devotion, nor did he fully appreciate it.
By the time he was in high school Benji began to realize his lack of enthusiasm for deep emotional ties. Benji was secretly affectionate for his family, as most teenagers are. For some reason, unknown even to Benji himself, expressing his sentiments didn't seem necessary or constructive in any way. One thing that began to become apparent to Benji was that he didn't exactly “love” his family; not in the way that they loved him anyway, and not nearly as much. He found his home life unsatisfying, to say the least, and saw no hope for salvaging it. He even contemplated running away several times, but was never compelled to carry out such a drastic act. He was stuck in a rut, as it seemed, and had begun to accept his fate.
High school granted Benji the perfect opportunity to experiment with new sensations: drugs, dating, things beyond dating. These experiences were fun for a while—not even he could deny that—but they were not nearly as fun as his classmates claimed. What was the point of it, then? Benji could have spent his entire life in a haze of sex and chemicals and it wouldn't have done a damn bit of good for permanently improving his emotional state. By that time Benji Law had become accustomed to feeling dead inside. In essence, he ceased to live. He didn't let on to this, but everyone around him knew and lamented the fact.
The end of high school drew near, and Benji had managed to spend four whole years jumping through educational hoops and dodging exams. His parents proposed to throw him a graduation party, but he decided to blow off their plans at the last minute. Something had come up; Rhymer Keys, Benji’s best friend (or the closest thing he had to one), was hosting an early-summer warehouse party on the same night, and Benji saw it as his last chance to bleed any enjoyment at all from his teen years. During one particular break in the techno beat, Benji met up with a young female raver that he hadn't seen around school before. She offered to take him outside and share a drink, and before Benji knew it they were quietly smoking in a side alley. And then they shared a drink. As the party girl tore deep into Benji's neck, his mind went blank...and then his head began to swim with myriad conflicting thoughts. This was the first time that Benji could feel—actually, truly feel—passion. Up to that point his sensibilities had been frozen. So of course Benji had to die in order to realize that he'd been dead all along.
After Life:
Upon his demise and rebirth, Benji was left with a refreshing ecstasy. The feeling didn't last of course, as every buzz wears off in time. Benji awoke the next evening half-buried in the dirt of an unfinished parking lot. From there he left Chinatown and began wandering around the greater Los Angeles area. He didn’t know his sire's name, and never saw her again, nor did he seek her out. The euphoria of death had left him almost completely, and now all that remained was the half-hearted emotional range he'd been born with.
For the first year or so Benji did not possess a true "home base"—just a series of places to squat and hide from hunters. It wasn't that he feared the hunters; it was just that he wished to avoid conflict with them. A while later he finally returned to Chinatown and settled in a run-down former youth shelter, which its residents, mostly bastard vampires abandoned by their sires, dubbed “Youth Hostile”. It provided a safe place for vampires to hide as well as feed. Benji never really "got" the whole feeding aspect of being a vampire. He'd kill humans to once in a while just because he could, naturally, and occasionally torture his victims just "to see what it's like" (he's found that it’s different every time). Feeding brings him no lasting joy, and ultimately that is all he really wants.
Still, for all eternity Benji Law will have that faded glimpse at true happiness, if only for one brief moment and only forged in death. If he survives this world long enough, Benji Law might just have to remember it forever.
Items
Benji's emotions run on a very low frequency, occasionally accented by violent mood swings. This can make his reasoning unpredictable. For advice on important decisions, Benji consults a toy “magic eight-ball”. The accessory, which only answers Yes/No questions, is useful for reigning in Benji’s chaotic attitudes.
Powers
Benji possesses only the most basic vampire powers, and since he is only a couple of years old his skills are not very well honed. He isn't very adept in his fighting, but he's got all eternity to practice his technique. (Well, hopefully.) He has picked up a combat lesson from surviving Black Veins member Rose Bellwether in recent times, and that has had some benefit.
Strangely enough Benji’s thirst for blood doesn't appear to be as great as it is in other vampires—desperate hunger seems to be yet another capacity which he is sorely lacking. As far as strengths go, it's quite convenient. Though he doesn’t really need to hunt as frequently as other vamps, he still maintains a similar predatory schedule.
Midseason Four Events
In mid-summer of 2007, Benji came across two fresh vampires rising out of a cemetery with no sire in sight. Recognizing the similarity between his own rebirth, Benji took the two undead punks, Walt and Julia, under his wing. He explained the basics of being a vampire, told them the kinds of things most new vamps either learn through trial-and-error or simply assume. He also led them to Youth Hostile, where they stayed and became his “students”, somewhat against Benji’s wishes at first. Eventually their allegiance satisfied his ego enough that he let them stay.
One night while hunting with Walt and Julia, Benji encountered his younger sister Joy returning home from her birthday party. Escorting her was Rhymer Keys, Benji’s former best friend, and when the pair discovered Benji’s true nature they were shocked. Joy’s insisted on getting her brother some help for his condition, but Benji rejected her aid. To frighten her away once and for all, Benji killed (and possible sired) Rhymer in front of her, then threatened her to take their parents and move to their grandparents’ farm in China. Joy left, but vowed not to give up on her big brother.
Returning home distraught, Benji struck up a conversation with the vampire Black Rosie Bellwether, last of the Black Veins gang. She convinced him, as she already had Walt and Julia, that the Black Veins could return to their former glory with Benji’s help. She offered him leadership, but Benji knew he could find someone better for the role.
Luckily for the Veins, prominent White Hat vampire slayer Natasha Brookes had recently been turned and was amassing a private army of her own. Benji offered her the leadership of the Black Veins. Though Rosie resented Tash for slaying her sire, Ebony, Rosie ceded that she was the best choice for the job. Under Tash’s direction, Benji and the other Veins formed a plan to defeat the White Hats.
All did not go as planned, however. Tash was staked by her formerly close ally, Nikolai Makarov. Walter was killed by a mercenary demon in the White Hats’ employ, and Julia barely escaped with her un-life intact. Benji reported that he had fought in the battle and that Rose Bellwether had been killed. However, details on her death are inexplicably sparse, and Benji refuses to divulge anything further. This leaves the status of the new Black Veins up in the air as of this time.
Season Five Events
...By the fall of 2007, Benji and Julia had returned to Los Angeles...
(more to come)