Finlay’s Character Extras

About the Family
Ancestry: Finlay was born in America; as was his father, and his father before him. His great-grandfather, Gilroy, immigrated to America from Scotland in the late 1890s, and got frustrated when no one was able to pronounce his surname, MacCionaodha. Gilroy asked for his last name to be changed to McKenna, which seemed to be easier for foreign tongues to pronounce. In summary, Fin’s paternal pedigree is dominantly Scottish with some French, Italian, and German tossed in here and there.

His mother’s side is a mix of Irish, English, Welsh, German, and Italian, and they’ve been living in America for a lot longer than the McKennas. Her family is spread out across the States, but at the time she met Robert her immediate family lived in Tennessee.


Family in general: The careers held by Finlay's family members have varied greatly over the years. Many in his paternal line have experienced at least 5 years in the military; and there seems to be something of a father-son dysfunctional relationship curse going around. His mother’s side has focused on the food service industry, but not all of them have put time into the little family-run diner like Fin’s mother did.


Important Persons to Finlay:
Brogan McKenna; Paternal Grandfather (deceased) ~~ Finlay hated his grandfather for the longest time. Brogan was something of a substitute father to him while Robert was away on tours, at his mother’s request. The man was harsh, and had no problem with following through on a spanking if misbehavior ensued.

Robert McKenna; Father (alive) ~~ Unlike Brogan, Robert managed to lose his accent almost entirely. Despite the strained relationship Finlay has with his father, there is a shred somewhere deep down that still loves the man.

Eileen McKenna; Mother (deceased) ~~ Finlay is particularly close to his mother. She understood how he felt, even if she didn’t quite feel the same all of the time. Eileen made it her job to spoil her children whenever possible after a long day of enduring the “twin terrors” (Finlay’s words) of Avery and Brogan, both of whom tended to be strict with rules and harsh with punishment. It wasn’t easy to raise four children when Robert was away, and Finlay has nothing but the utmost respect for her.

Ashley Ferguson (nee McKenna); Sister (unknown) ~~ As kids, Fin didn’t have to do much to send his younger sister to their mother in a fit of tears... to which he would smirk at her as she fled. As adults he is very protective of both sisters, with the understanding that Finlay’s boss-me-around days were long since done (thanks to Ashley slapping him hard in the face in their late teens). Before the virus hit they still got into the occasional argument, particularly where their father is concerned, but other than that their relationship was good.

Indiana Mills (nee McKenna); Sister (unknown) ~~ Finlay was a little nicer to Indiana than he was to Ashley when they were growing up. He even went so far as to take on a pair of bullies that were teasing her, and seemed to be around his level. This turned out to be a bad move, though, because the brothers of the bullies saw fit to get revenge on him whenever they could and made school miserable for Fin. As adults Finlay has a hearty soft spot for his baby sister and would do almost anything for her... unless it was likely he’d be beaten to a pulp.

Logan McKenna; Brother (unknown) ~~ Finlay was cruel to his brother when they were growing up. He felt it was his job as the domineering eldest child to rough up his younger brother, and try to force the other boy to tears whenever possible. He pretended not to care about Logan, but the truth is that out of all of his siblings he felt closest to Logan. They would frequently roughhouse so both boys had some fighting basics by the time they entered high school. Finlay grew out of tormenting his brother by the time he reached his teenage years, but they were constantly roughhousing – sometimes getting so into it that one or the other would be bruised the next day. Finlay still maintains a casually rowdy, playful relationship with Logan.

Jacob McLeod; a.k.a. “Jake” or “Dandy”; Blood Brother & Best Friend (alive) ~~ Fin and Jacob have been friends since kindergarten. It all started with an argument on the school playground’s spiral slide. They have been almost inseparable since becoming friends. It was a combined idea between Finlay and Jacob to create a group of blood brothers – initially consisting of themselves, Rodney, Andrew, and Daniel. Jacob and Finlay initially considered a sort of tattoo-like mark as a way of establishing camaraderie amongst themselves... but it was Rodney who insisted on an actual blood oath, complete with a knife and actual bleeding. Before Jacob and Finlay married their respective girlfriends, they did a fair job in assessing girlfriend material for each other while growing up. Jacob was Fin’s best man at his wedding, and Fin was the best man at Jacob’s wedding.

Rodney Briggs; a.k.a. “Roddy” or “Knob”; Blood Brother & Best Friend (alive) ~~ Rodney is a friend from middle school, and in a word: troublemaker. He influenced Fin in all the wrong ways, and as a result Fin enjoyed his company too much to listen when told not to associate with Rodney. He took a blood oath with Finlay, Jacob, Daniel, and Andrew in middle school... and it was his idea to do the real thing instead of what he thought would be a, “silly, temporary ink job”. Roddy is one of the heaviest drinkers of the group, swears like a sailor, and quite a player with little regard for gender. While Rodney means well he frequently comes across as an ass. Sometimes he can even seem downright mean. Finlay and Miranda argued constantly over whether or not Kayden should be allowed to associate with Rodney.

Andrew Zimmerman; a.k.a. “Mouse”; Blood Brother (unknown) ~~ Rodney and Finlay used to bully Andrew relentlessly. They eventually outgrew it and Andrew managed to befriend them. He took a blood oath with Finlay, Jacob, Rodney, and Daniel in middle school. Relentless and sometimes harsh teasing still persists – it’s fairly pervasive throughout all of the blood brothers and blood sister in the group – but it is generally well-intentioned.

Daniel Stark; a.k.a. “Danny”, “Danny-Boy”, “Sparky”; Blood Brother & Ex-boyfriend (alive) ~~ Daniel and Fin share a particularly special friendship. They met early on in childhood, and for the longest time Daniel had a crush on Finlay. He took a blood oath with Finlay, Jacob, Rodney, and Andrew in middle school. It wasn’t until high school that Daniel finally got his wish for a relationship with Finlay, who was starting to experiment with other sorts of love. The two young men were an intense but closeted item for a time... except from their blood brothers, from whom they kept no secrets. While Finlay had strong feelings for Daniel, he didn’t fully swing in that direction. They broke things off amicably and have been very close friends ever since.

Pauline Mcfarland; a.k.a. “Paul,” “Paula,” “Paulie,” “Paulie-Jo,” “Slugger”; Honorary “Blood Sister” & friend (unknown) ~~ Fin met Pauline McFarland in his first year at college. They had a brief intimacy despite Pauline’s masculine demeanor and preference for women. It was Pauline who suggested they quit the romantic side of their relationship. She’s proven herself worthy of being “one of the guys” to the rest of the men in Fin’s group, though there wasn’t an official blood oath involved. Pauline is often one of the first ones to start raunchy talk about fine-looking women (she and Rodney compete for bragging rights on this).

Cillian Hull; a.k.a. “Fizzy”; Honorary “Blood Brother” & friend (unknown) ~~ Cillian may be the oddest addition to Fin’s group of buddies. Fin met Cillian in college. It’s not the fact that Cillian is gay that makes him the unusual one – Daniel shares that preference, after all, and the group is completely fine with it. Instead, it is Cillian’s long-time insistence to refrain from drinking alcohol that makes his inclusion so unlikely. Some of the time Cillian was the designated driver, which explained it, but most times he was not. Cillian would drink soda while the guys were taking shots, mixed drinks, and straight liquor on the rocks, which is how he earned his nickname, Fizzy. Like Pauline, Cillian did not take any blood oath to participate.

Miranda McKenna; Ex-wife (deceased) ~~ Fin and Miranda met in college – quite literally running into each other. Fin’s coffee spilled all over Miranda’s blouse and purse, while books and papers from both went scattering to the floor. When Miranda wouldn’t accept money to ensure her blouse and purse were either properly cleaned or reasonably replaced, Finlay offered to take her out to dinner. Miranda laughed and asked if he always asked a girl out by spilling coffee on them first, which made Fin uncomfortable at first, but the two grew on each other. They deeply loved each other, but Finlay’s workaholic ways and absence from both his married and family life caused the relationship to sour into bitter, vicious arguments their son couldn’t help but overhear. Finlay most regrets that he wasn’t there when Miranda passed, both to say goodbye to her and be there for Kayden.

Kayden McKenna; Son (alive) ~~ Finlay’s relationship with Kayden is complicated. Fin tries to be a good father but sometimes ends up screwing things up and making matters worse. Visits with his son post-divorce were alright for the most part when Kayden was a child; he made sure to give the boy his undivided attention. Miranda’s presence during some visits made the whole thing awkward, especially the way she glared whenever Finlay picked Kayden up – something Fin tried to make sure that Kayden never saw. He is very protective of his son, and would do anything for him. Although Fin has been accused of being the coward of the family, he would put his cowardice aside and fight for his son if it ever came to it. Finlay knows good and well that he messed up (and continues messing up) in being a proper father to Kayden, and the amount of guilt he has in knowing those mistakes is impossibly heavy. Finlay’s primary goal after being reunited with Kayden is to acquire his son’s forgiveness.

Olivia; Girlfriend (deceased) ~~ Finlay didn’t start going out with Olivia until well after his divorce from Miranda was in progress. In all honesty he started dating her because he was lonely. They grew close, and Finlay eventually moved in with her, but in his heart of hearts he knows he didn’t love her nearly as much as he loved Miranda. Finlay was with her when she died, but fled from the body once she expired in order to avoid getting stuck in the hospital’s quarantine.

Samantha Carter; Possible Romantic Interest (alive) ~~ ((Official info pending))


Distinguishing Features (not previously mentioned)
~ bony knees
~ birthmark in roughly the shape of a strawberry (or an iconic “broken heart” symbol) on the right side of his torso; he would have to raise his arm over his head for it to be seen clearly
~ jagged scar on upper middle back from when bullies literally hung him by the shirt from a coat hook
~ very faint cigarette burns on his inner left wrist and forearm
~ the more excited, scared, or angry Fin becomes, the stronger his Scottish brogue (learned from his grandfather, Brogan McKenna) gets


General Extras
Birthday: July 27, 1966 (Leo)
Languages (fluency): English (native), Scots (limited), Spanish (moderate/limited)
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual, though experimented considerably when younger
Political Affiliation: Independent

Best Memory: Kayden’s birth, and getting to hold him for the very first time
Worst Memory: Miranda serving him divorce papers
Phobias (if any): Claustrophobia, Heights, Snakes, Boats, Planes
Greatest Fear: Losing Kay (in any way, shape, or form)

Baseball Team: Baltimore Orioles
Football Team: San Francisco 49ers

Favorite Holidays: Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas, New Year’s Eve
Favorite Movie: The Matrix
Favorite Television Show: Dr. Who
Favorite Beer: Corona
Favorite Liquor: Tequila


Likes (+) and Dislikes (-)

+ Drinking
+ Smoking
+ Chocolate (read: chocoholic)
+ Spicy food/Tabasco sauce
+ Bread pudding
+ Sushi
+ Pecan pie
+ TV Dinners
+ Bananas

+ Tattoos (though he’ll never get one himself; likes looking at other people’s tattoos)
+ Camouflage
+ Leather
+ Boots
+ Music
+ Movies

+ Gambling
+ Hunting
+ Fishing
+ Cars
+ Motorcycles
+ Technology

+ Women
+ Games (video and otherwise)
+ Being relaxed enough around a person that he can be silly with them
+ Most animals one can legally own as a pet or livestock
+ Being in control
+ Problem solving

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- Himself
- Pain
- Seeing a loved one suffering or in pain
- People that don’t, or won’t, listen to him
- Small, enclosed spaces
- Heights
- Hospitals
- Planes
- Boats
- Rats
- Snakes
- Cleaning

- Being humiliated
- Being left out
- Being told no or that he can’t do something
- Being thwarted, argued with, or otherwise not getting his way
- Being mocked
- Being ignored
- Being alone / Abandonment (perceived or literal)
- Being called a coward
- Knowing that he is, indeed, a coward; despite the few times he’s tried to be braver
- Unexpected changes – especially when he seems to be the last to know

- Disrespect
- Helplessness
- Powerlessness
- Politics
- Cheaters
- Criminals

- Vinegar
- Complicated cooking
- Most boiled vegetables
- Any food that has a chewed-up-and-spat-out look or texture (applesauce, cottage cheese, etc)


Other Notes
- Still wears his wedding band
- Guilt tends to manifest in a variety of unexplained aches and pains
- Knows how to sing (tenor), but hasn’t sung since Kay was little
- Knows how to play guitar; again, he hasn’t played since Kay was small
- Wants but also fears power; knows he would abuse power, but doesn’t admit it


Pictures


High school bad boy


Before enlisting


Stripping and being silly


First family Christmas dinner as a married man


Photo of Finlay for his law firm’s website


Taking a break from programming codes


Finlay’s last, high-profile case before quitting his job as a lawyer


Super Bowl party at Fin and Miranda’s place!




Off to court


Fin and Kayden on a quest for the perfect sunglasses


A gift from Kayden


Re-learning how to play guitar, post-divorce


A night at the hospital, thinking about Olivia


Cooling off from an argument with Kayden, and feeling like a guilty arsehole


Fin likes Star Trek


Talking to Selena


Fin’s lawyer shtick


Reacting to an overheard argument between Pauline and Rodney


Reunion hugfest!


“You’re not lying to me, now, are ya?”


Fin annoyed that Miranda is angry with him. Again.


Fin subtly telling Kay not to interrupt Miranda’s yelling


Fin having a chat with his divorce court lawyer


Newly divorced. Self explanatory.


Going through old photos of him and Miranda


Captured by raiders