This is actually one of the first things I wrote but I’ve been nervous to post it. Anyway, I had so much fun writing this and love Bumlets so much
I might write more for this at some point if anyone’s interested with some more thoughts and I hope you enjoy! This is super long and kind of rambly but I had fun with all of this
It has a really nice weight and he always needs to be fidgeting with something and he loves the feel it has when tapping it
It doubles as a stimmy and something to help him maneuver because Bumlets has no coordination
He also on an unrelated note had an injury that screwed with his foot when he was a kid
It bothers him more when its cold out and he relies more on the cane on bad pain days
He uses it as a selling point sometime
He and Crutchie joke around sometimes and mess with their crutch and cane together
They know things can be awful sometimes so they share lighter, goofy silly moments
Bumlets is really uncoordinated
He has a really hard time maneuvering around and controlling his movement when he’s walking
There’s this one table in the hall of the Lodging’s
It stayed in the same place but every day for three years the boy could not get by without knocking into it at some point
His proprioception is completely screwed
He loves dancing tho and he’s SO GOOD at it
He feels self-conscious sometimes bc like, he can do backflips and amazing dance moves but he can’t tell left from right all the time or the distance between objects and proceeds to knock into everything on his way anywhere
Plus dance is a more acceptable way to move your body than flapping your hands/rocking or whatever
At least with the newsies (who don’t really seem to care either way)
Bumlets loves being in motion
He had to work really hard as a kid to figure out how to coordinate his dancing movements. He spent hours trying to practice each step because he was so clumsy due to his brain function that even though he really freaking loved dancing it was really hard for him
He actually used the cane first when he was little to try and help push himself around when he struggled with dance moves he really wanted to do
He’s very proud of his dancing now
And he loves that he gets to show it with the boys he loves as family
He gets praised sometimes for being super expressive because he’s almost always smiling or showing something on his face. It can be really good for selling sometimes to have someone so that seems so open and friendly
Honestly tho Bumlets never knows what is happening on his face so if people ask he has no clue how to help
He has a hard time registering what his face is doing at all
He can tell sometimes he’s smiling really widely when his face starts hurting but he feels pretty disconnected from his face most of the time and he’s really confused by how others can tell what is happening on people’s faces and what that is supposed to signify so easily
Bumlets really doesn’t get idioms at all
He has a mental list of some of the phrases the other newsboys use
Even though sometimes he’ll slip up and get really excited and start grinning because he has a relevant point in response to that statement- but oh that’s a phrase/idiom or non-literal joke they didn’t actually mean that he should stay quiet
Plus English isn’t his first language
So things get really messy there too
There are so many little idiosyncrasies and quirks in different languages and they’re really hard to keep track of sometimes even if you don’t have autistic characteristics
His hair always stays down and he really likes the feel of it
He can’t stand the thought of getting a haircut
Plus having it long/hang down feels nice on the sensory end
He doesn’t like people touching his hair
Bumlets doesn’t like short pants bc if your going to wear pants they have to go all the way down
He doesn’t like leaving just a section of skin exposed
He very rarely slips up when he’s dancing. Bumlets has rehearsed the motions for so many countless hours they feel natural at this point so he’s generally in a pretty bad way when that does happen
When he gets excited he tends to start tapping his cane faster and his eyes light up
He can chatter away for hours about things he’s interested in without pause or losing enthusiasm
Bumlets can be pretty oblivious
He has a hard time telling when people are upset or emotional
Internally panics and screams the whole time anyone is upset bc he isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do but he Loves Them
Hypersensitive to touches but loves hugs
He is a very physical person bc he loves showing affection but some days touch is just Bad
Can’t do surprise touches very well
Espec from certain people
He has a hard time supporting his weight (he just sways faintly a lot but has no idea, can’t tell if he’s in motion) so he uses his cane for support
And he likes something to try to use to catch him if he stumbles a little
He tends to shut down if noises and lights become way too much
Duck behind a statue for a moment to breathe
tap tap tap and finger thing I can’t get my body to cooperate to do
He has a few places he goes when he’s overwhelmed
Very rarely completely shuts down but it’s always incredibly exhausting
The first time he did it around the newsies he just collapsed and slept for hours afterwards
He didn’t move like at all in his sleep which freaked them all out because Bumlets always seemed to be doing something + he slept for like a whole day
The boys worried about him
Bumlets was a lil sleepy and sheepish when he woke up but good
Used his cane extra that day
The newsies are super great
They don’t always understand but they try really hard and love him to death
There aren’t really a lot of words to help him explain things because it is 1899 but they all make it work, and if the kids can sell papes and live with the rest of them they have been absorbed into their crazy weird family and will be fought for
They’ve become pretty good at noticing signs for when he’s getting overwhelmed
Usually someone will grab him and take him out to rest if he’s not in a space to just go himself
Different people do different things but he loves them all
Some of the boys will just have quiet conversations with Bumlets one-on-one about things he loves when he’s more coherent
One just sits with him quietly supportive while he fiddles with stuff
He actually doesn’t smoke a lot but he loves fiddling with cigars or messing with them in his mouth
He used to use them a lot more
He still uses them sometimes and has some around
One time after a really bad day (meltdown) Race gave him one of his cigars. He made him promise not to tell anyone but Bumlets was so happy he couldn’t care less
He was very careful with said cigar bc it was from Race
So it was automatically important
He doesn’t always understand Race cause he’s super witty but he loves hearing him talk
Bumlets can be a really convincing liar. He’s not the best but he can definitely pass and he kind of has to on the streets
Rowdy boy, like the rest of the newsies
He’s super eager and almost always seen smiling
He’s excited by so many things
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other emotions because he definitely does
He feels like he just soaks up all emotions and dealing with them when he can’t understand is a mess
Skittery is great at listening even when Bumlets is past the point of words or even understanding how to put things into words
Doesn’t always realize when things are supposed to be insults
Forgets he’s supposed to take care of himself sometimes
He forgets he’s supposed to eat and doesn’t always realize if he’s hungry or needs water
Exasperates Skittery and some of the boys but they try to remind him in case he doesn’t remember
He’s awkward and nervous and doesn’t understand things sometimes but really kind and cares very obviously about all of them
Appreciates the little things
He’s good at noticing tiny details or inconsistencies others miss sometimes
While he’s friends are really great at helping that doesn’t mean he can’t fend for himself
He can definitely pick fights and hold his own and look after himself
His family is just their to help when things go sour
They don’t make him feel like he’s any less bc he’s “weird” or different
Skittery is incredibly close with him and helps him a lot
Skittery helps keep track of things when his thoughts are more scattered
Bumlets is also very good at helping Skittery because he’s really smart with money and sorting things out
When he pushes himself too far sometimes Skittery is the exasperated friend who wants Bumlets to stop being an idiot and look after himself
He’s really supportive and sometimes tugs him aside to help explain terms or phrases when Bumlets doesn’t understand
Skittery also has a cane and they tussle a lot with them
Bumlets has always really loved that bc when they were starting it out it made him feel like he was one of them
They’re almost always inseparable
And he has a hard time sometimes when he doesn’t have Skittery because with Skittery things Make Sense
When he’s gone Bumlets is sad
But the other boys are nice too and he loves them
He considers the newsies his family since he doesn’t really have his bio family anymore
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