#sorry for my ....generally inconsistent colouring it's my trademark

[wi1helms]

HARRY STYLES COLOURS MEME / want one? purple (asked by @fircforaheart)

“beach, don’t kill my vibe”

[quandqry-blog]

Muse Sheet

Everything you need to know on Franklin Mendel/Quandary under the cut.

General Info

Full Name: Franklin Mendel

Name Origin: Franklin - liberally free-thinking (Middle English); Mendel - comforter, guardian (Yiddish)

Nickname: Frank/Frankie - self-explanatory, really; Mend-All - as one of the more...grounded associates, Franklin’s established himself as quite the handyman in Nygma’s ranks and a jack-of-all-trades, taking up various roles when required. 

Alias: Quandary - a state of perplexion and uncertainty over what to do during a difficult decision, typically of a moral nature.

D.O.B.: 19/07/87

Place of Birth: The Bowery, Gotham City East, USA - the lowest of the low, the worst Gotham has to offer. Bordered to the north by Crime Alley, the Bowery is home to Crown Point, a smaller inner-district ridden with crime, homelessness and prostitution. Underdeveloped and laden with the circulation of illegal drugs, police activity is at a minimum within the Bowery, while independent gangs rule the streets. 

Ethnicity: Sicilian - born to Sicilian immigrants, Franklin identifies strongly with his roots, identifying more with the culture and history he was born into than that of the US he was raised within. 

Religion: Roman Catholic - he was raised as such by his parents up until adolescence, where he started to assume a more casual degree of practice. While he acknowledges the concept of Catholicism as part of his heritage, Franklin isn’t an especially strict follower of the teachings, and would likely be considered a lapsed Catholic by most.

Place of Residence: The Cauldron, Gotham Central, USA - known for it’s organised crime, the Cauldron was run by Mickey Sullivan and the Irish mob - a sub-organisation of assassins who operated beneath Falcone - until Holiday wiped them out during Thanksgiving. As a gesture of goodwill, the territory was transferred over to the Sabatino crime family, Gotham’s oldest Italian mob, where it developed a reputation for housing and producing the city’s most feared hitmen.

Brief Description of Home: Franklin rents a top floor apartment on the outskirts of the Cauldron, consisting of a general living area and a sorry excuse for a bathroom tucked behind the door. He’s made a few repairs here and there to ensure everything’s functioning, but, if it weren’t for the blanket over the sofa - no bed, you see - or the coffee pot by the window, you’d be hard-pressed to believe anyone was living there. It’s poorly lit, cast in dreary greys and browns, and you’d be able to cross from one side of the room to the other in about three steps. Hardly ideal, but, in terms of putting a roof over his head and a minor base of operations, it serves its purpose.

Brief Description of Local Area: Much like your typical Gothamite, Franklin’s desensitised to the morbid ways of life within the city. Murder, theft, folk going missing overnight - hell, the middle of the day - are so commonplace, they’re scarcely worth fussing over - and, when you consider just how brutal the Cauldron can be, well, everything’s scaled up to eleven. Paranoia runs rampant in the streets, with friends turning each other over to the mob for a hefty fee, and blood will be spilled over petty disputes. Still, it’s ideally situated for ease of access to other areas of Gotham, and the Stacked Deck’s a fairly decent watering hole, if you can stomach the clientele. 

Current Occupation: Henchman - well, if we’re being official. It’s a fairly broad term, so he’s dabbled in his fair share of laundering, theft, murder, extortion, blackmail, getaway driving, etc. in his service to the Riddler. 

Income Level: Ehhh, it’s flimsy at best. He doesn’t have a conventional job, so there’s no money being made in his name. Whatever he does earn with Nygma tends to be split ten ways with other crooks, and deposited into cliched we’re obviously criminals swag bags, so, you can bet he’s not seeing a dime of that from all the times he’s spent behind bars...Good job he’s low maintenance, huh?

Education Level: As an orphan growing up in the East End of Gotham, Franklin never had access to nor the opportunity for a formal education. He was sitting around the sixth grade when his parents died, but everything he learned from that point on came from a significant degree of self-learning. Rarely would you find the urchin without a book, lost within the depths of literature and the human psyche. And, street smarts sure go a long way.

Do They Drive?: You’ve heard the saying like a duck to water, yes? Well, Franklin’s got a knack for that sort of thing, being able to adapt and account for numerous setbacks in areas he’s barely familiar with. He’s got a Mercedes S63 Coupe from Johnny Sabatino, as a gesture of their friendship and familial ties, but he’s rarely ever found himself needing to drive, when the labyrinth of Gotham’s a much more efficient means of crossing the city. He’s not beyond taking up the role of getaway driver when required, though. 

Sexual Orientation: Demisexual - while he’s not beyond acknowledging someone’s attractive and breaking into a sweat on the subway, Franklin predominantly experiences secondary sexual attraction, in that a foundation of trust and familiarity must be laid out before considering any partners. Unfortunately, this may come across as being fairly prudish, or not getting laid ‘enough’, but, for Frank, the attraction/appeal simply isn’t there until he’s made the connection, at which point, the notions become a tangible force.

Romantic Orientation: Aromantic - while the definition of aromantic varies between individuals, for Franklin, the concept of romance seems arbitrarily and inconsistently defined. It’s foreign territory, uncharted land. An entirely abstract notion. Now, he’s experienced passionate friendships which fall outwith typical ‘platonic’ boundaries, but the concept of romantic idealisation and elevating one person over another on account of some trivial feeling seems well and truly illogical. His love is based on practical conditions - constancy, loyalty, trust, action - not chemical highs and giddy emotions.

Physical Appearance

Height: 6′1″ [1.88m]

Weight: 187lbs [85kg]

Body Type: Franklin has a fairly lean, nimble physique - while proportionate and somewhat defined, he’s not especially athletic. Shoulders, chest, calves, quads - they’re all there, present, accounted for, but not to the extent of, say, a model or trainer. It’s a practical mass, gained through everyday labour and hardship, not the product of ego or vanity. 

Eye Colour: Dark Green.

Hair Colour: Light Brown 

Hair Style: Fairly short at the back and sides, with just enough heft to naturally quiff at the front.

Skin Tone: Light Olive - not as prominent as, say, other Sicilians, but definitively not white, either.

Prominent Features: He’s got an arrowhead-esque range of moles upon the head of the left deltoid, and a nasty scar on the inside of his bottom lip, courtesy of the Sabatino initiation process.  A tattoo of his parents’ initials on the inside of his left ankle, and one at the base of spine - domando, Sicilian slang that combines the Italian for query and demand. A few scars and bruises here and there from the previous week’s scrapes, but nothing too permanent or long-term, ‘til next time.

Dress Style: In spite of his line of work, Franklin isn’t a flashy sort of guy - if anything, his wardrobe’s the goldilocks zone of comfort and practicality, while maintaining that dreary pseudo-noir Gotham aesthetic. Long sleeved sweaters, cotton shirts, military jackets, grey denim, contrast jumpers, shirt jackets, leather boots, etc. etc. Greys, browns, greens. Everything you’d expect from a mobster-turned-Riddler henchman.

Accessories: He wears a brown leather watch on his left wrist, and used to carry his mother’s engagement ring around on a silver chain, but pawned it off in his youth for petty change during an all-time-low.

Grooming: Besides a light stubble every now and again, Franklin’s fairly well-maintained - not to the point of excess, mind you, or devoting too much time to his appearance; mostly the I woke up like this, groggily ran a brush through my hair and voila! look. You know the type.

Speech and Language

Rate of Speech: Franklin has a fairly fast, almost erratic, means of communication. It stems from finding difficulty in making the connection between his thoughts, what he wants to say and actually saying it in a way you’ll understand. By extension, if he’s ever explaining something, he’ll typically make a conscious effort to slow down, to ensure you’re keeping up - it may come across as condescending at times, but, hey, you’ll know all about it if he is.

Accent/Dialect: He boasts a fairly prominent New Jersey dialect, with the trademark diphthong and underlying slur. On paper, coffee and chocolate become ‘caw-fee’/’chawk-let’, park and dark become ‘pah-k’/’dah-k’. He’s aware of the negative stereotypes surrounding the dialect the ‘lazy’ pronunciation of vowels and absence of r’s, but he’s not going to go out of his way to mask or distance himself from it. Far as he’s concerned, it’s part of who he is.

Tone: The tone of his voice is comfortably within the middle ranges, not especially high, nor particularly deep; somewhat rasped in the lower regions, heavily accented when caught in the moment. Rarely will you ever hear him raise his voice, either, for there’s a distinct sense of control and reservation at play - it’d be illogical for him to be saddled by emotion and impulse, so you’ll find he conducts himself with a calm, authoritative air.

General Speech Pattern: For the most part, Franklin’s just your everyday Gothamite - he may be in Nygma’s employ, but he’s not going to run around using flowery language, accusing everyone of being imbeciles, flaunting his intellectual superiority through antiquated words. He values words, he values meaning, so he can often come across as being fairly reserved in terms of interaction, for he's pretty damn selective in what he says, speaks only when there’s a point to be made or a conversation of value.

Mannerisms/Demeanour: In contrast to Nygma’s theatrical flamboyance, Franklin’s much more...reticent. It may be mistaken for a brooding, stoic disposition, but he’s much more sure of himself and his ability to get his point across without the grandeur Nygma so readily employs. He’s calm, cool, collected. Patient. Not so easily riled. Truth is, he often finds himself cringing when Nygma gets in the zone, since the whole ordeal’s so painfully obnoxious, but, hey, gig of the century.

Typical Posture: He’ll typically stand straight and proportioned, but not rigid. Circumstance may see him slouch a tad if he’s been lingering for a particular length of time, but, generally speaking, he’ll remain upright to the best of his ability. 

Common Gestures: Franklin has a tendency to fold his arms so that each thumb rests under the bicep, while his fingers lightly tap upon the top. It’s not so much a sign he’s uncomfortable or anxious, more...a means of occupying himself, stimulating his mind and body, where it’s otherwise lacking. The occasional foot-tap makes an appearance, too.

Everyday Behaviour/Habits

Finances: As mentioned during the ‘income level’ section, every penny Franklin makes comes from his criminal activity with Nygma. There’s no need for him to be cautious or prudent with regards to his spending habits, for he spent so much of his life on the streets anyway that the concept of money seems pretty damn nonsensical. If he wants something, he can simply take it, for he’s already damned as far as a criminal record goes. Besides, he’s not exactly high maintenance - he’s pretty much living on microwave meals, take-outs, a few repair materials and strong black coffee.

Vices: Franklin’s partial to the odd glass or two of Amaretto, with a large bottle tucked away in his apartment. One’s kicking about somewhere in Nygma’s HQ, but its current whereabouts are, as yet, unknown. He’s also dabbled in weed from time to time, but nothing so extreme as to impair his judgement or performance. Nor does he bolster an addiction.

Daily Routine: It’s nigh impossible to map out a typical day for Franklin, since so much could change on the turn of a dime. He’ll roughly wake for around 8-9am, take a leak, brush up, etc. etc., keeping his phone nearby in the event Nygma calls, then grab breakfast on-the-go as he paces across Gotham to find intel of his own, people to extort, victims to test. Nygma’s not exactly running a criminal empire, so Franklin doesn’t need to be on his hands and knees 24/7 for him, he’s got a life outwith being a henchman. Having said that, should he not be required, he’ll be left with a significant amount of time to fill, prompting him to either make some repairs back home, check over everything at HQ, or take one of Nygma’s traps for a spin. Coming home, it’d be your standard washing away the blood of your victims, watching mostly-static over a microwave meal, then curling up on a ratty sofa with no remorse for the people he killed. Not his fault they didn’t have what it takes to survive. Clearly didn’t want to live enough.

Skills/Talents: Critical thinking; innovation; diplomatic; articulate; intuitive; adaptable; integrity; polyglot; mechanical engineering; woodwork; psycho-analysing; philosophical; light-footed; silk touch; quick-witted; driven. 

Weaknesses: Franklin doesn’t do too well when it comes to being called out or contradicted - his thoughts essentially haze over, struggling to overcome the sudden obstacle, leaving him pretty damn stuped. While boasting a mean right hook, he’s also not the most skilled fighter, meaning he could easily go down if outnumbered or overpowered. 

Hobbies: Woodwork; learning; geocaching; poker; hiking; orienteering; camping.

[More to add.]