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The Many Faces of Phinean Finnegan

The Many Faces of Phinean Finnegan - student project

Who is Phinean Finnegan??

-One of the many Reapers who serves Death, who monitors the clocks of various souls in the Gallery of Death recording the daily assignments for the Collectors. He used to be a Collector, but got downgraded to Monitor due to failing to pick-up the right souls, delivering the souls to the wrong afterlife, and that one or two times he accidentally set collected souls loose in Gallery causing havoc back in the land of the living, which led to people thinking they were being possessed by the devil, among other things. 

Question #1: What does your hero want?
• Goals:


-He wants to prove to his fellow Reapers and Death that he is capable of being added back to the rotation of the Collectors. 

• What makes your hero get up in the morning? 

-His desire to prove his worth

• What is his heart’s deepest desire, conscious or otherwise? /What does he think he wants?

-To be promoted back to his original job.

-Show that he is not inept 

• What does he actually want?

-To be accepted, to belong, to feel connected with someone

• What tangible goals has he set to achieve them?

-He found his old timesheets that documented all the places in time where he failed, and plans to restart those clocks to correct his past actions to prove his worth.

• Is his goal possible?

-In theory, yes. Being a Monitor also means you also remove the no longer ticking clocks and place them in the archive, so he can relocate his pass failures (it just may not go the way he thinks it will go).


  • How can we relate to his goal?

-Having a chance to prove to your colleagues, friends and/or family that you can do something despite past failings. Aka show that you learned from your mistakes and learned how to overcome them.

-Most people long to have a second chance to correct past actions.


  • Why do we want him to succeed?

-Everyone loves an underdog who finds acceptance.

Question #2: How does your hero need to change?


  • What are your protagonist’s flaws?

-Misplaced Confidence, is a klutz, clueless

• Which of them will pose the biggest hindrance to his success in attaining his goal?

-Being Clueless

• Where does his primary flaw come from?

-lack of education, and family guidance 

• What are his wounds and backstory?

-He was a human before coming a Reaper, he didn't know his family, and has always felt abandoned.

-Never felt that he lived a full life 

• How can we relate to his flaw?

-Feeling unloved and under appreciated

  • Why do we want him to change?

-We want him to find a family, and grow to realize his self-worth

 

Question #3: Why do we care?
• What does he stand for?
-That anyone can learn from their past mistakes.


  • How can we relate to him?

-People want to show that they can accept influence and become better.

• What are his quirks, habits and mannerisms?

-He’s a klutz, and hates being around souls who are sick.

• What does he look and sound like?

-Sound: Irish, standard accent

-Looks: Somewhere between 5’11 or taller. Slim build, red hair, freckles, sports thick lenses glasses, and dresses like a dandy from the 1700s.

• What makes him unique?

-He can access the luck of the Irish during times of crisis, well 20-50% of it anyway.

-He can communicate with selective animals (squirrels, chipmunks, dog breeds under 20 pounds)

• Who matters to him most in the world?

-Death, he’s got a bit of crush


  • What does he fear?

-Being dismissed from the House of Death, and being sent live in the mortal realm only to live and die over and over again until the fates have had enough.

• How does he act in front of his greatest idol?

-Nervous and his accent grows thicker and he talks super fast to the point of where no one understands him


  • What makes him cry?
    -He’s an animal lover and cannot stand it when they get mistreated.

  • What makes him laugh?

-When he ever so slightly makes the address and/or a name of a soul just a touch unreadable causing the Collectors to almost miss their mark. His little way of telling them that even they aren’t perfect.

• If his house was on fire, what’s the one thing he would save?

-His shamrock charm that Death gave him when he joined her service

• Who cares about him most in the world?

-Death, she cares deeply for all of her reapers. She had to pull a lot of strings just allow Phileas to keep his job as a Reaper, but only as a Monitor.

-While he doesn't believe it, his fellow Reapers do as well.

Question #4: What are the stakes?
• Why is it absolutely necessary for our main character to succeed?

-He runs the risk of resetting the timeline and course of history by rewinding clocks of the departed or getting trapped.

• What terrible thing will happen if he doesn’t get what he wants?

-Well, if he doesn’t get caught, he’ll be stuck as Monitor until the end of time. Or;

-He’ll be made to return as mortal, but will be trapped in a never-ending cycle of reincarnation of not of his choosing until the fates get bored or when Death comes to claim them and everyone else.


  • What terrible thing will happen if he doesn’t grow in the way he needs?

-See above, but also have to live with knowledge of his own failings, and won’t be permitted to feel an emotional connection with anyone.


  • Fill in the blanks:

Question #5: What are the obstacles?
• What or who is standing in between him and his goal?

-Himself.

• What or who is standing in between him and positive change?

-Himself.


  • How can the obstacles between him and his goal act as a catalyst for change?

-Through his trials going through the various clocks, he’ll have to come face to face with himself and come to terms that he was holding himself back.