Cassowary Finn

Real Name: Finnegan 'Finn' Cassidy
Hero Name: Cassowary Finn
Alignment: Neutral Good
Apparent Age: 23
Actual Age: 45
Gender: Male
Race: Meta-Human
Hair: Dark Green with Dyed Pink Streaks
Eyes: Dark Green (Cat's Eyes)
Height:  8'11'' (2.7 Meters)
Weight: 600lbs (272kg)




Art Credit: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KBV94

Though Finnegan looks like what happen if an orc, a troll, and an ogre had freaky orgy with a variety of predatory animals, Finn has been careful to at least try to maintain some semblance of his fleeting humanity.  He still possesses the standard number of limbs, with his sensory organs in the right place... mostly.  When Finn takes off his headphones, for instance, a person might see that his ears don't rest at the same height.  Or that his eyes are slightly too large and come to vertical slits.  Instead of the 32 teeth of the typical variety most humans possess, Finn has closer to one hundred; all arrowhead shaped with serrated edges.  His arms are also too long for a human, being proportioned more for a gorilla or orangutan rather than a human.

Finn tries to conceal his more inhuman enhancements behind layers of clothing or accessories worn to disguise his abnormalities.  He often wears a pair of bulky headphones, for instance, and a pair of pink panto-style sunglasses to hide his eyes.  He often wears a faux-leather jacket and thick pants to hide his scaled skin.  

Despite all the inhuman features, however, Finn remains a relatively handsome guy.  He has an easy smile and a casual air.  His voice is rich and deep, and he speaks in an attractive, eclectic accent derived from his travels and strange upbringing.


Devout and deeply spiritual, Finn has a deep respect and tolerance for the people and creatures around him.  Finnegan is one of those people who has never met a stranger, often going to great lengths to assist people he has only just met.  Despite the requirements of his biology, Finn is a staunch human and animal rights advocate.  He is strictly nonviolent with his political action, believing that while fists might help a situation, only people can help to change the world.  

Outwardly, while Finnegan might be charismatic and gregarious, inwardly Finn is wracked by self-loathing.  His lifestyle is out of order with his beliefs.  Were it his choice, he'd live a quiet, sedate life in accordance with his religion.  To console himself, he acts to make the world better wherever he can, shouldering the burdens placed on him without complaint.


Finnegan Patrick Cassidy was raised in an unusual religious commune located in Western Ireland.   While his parents were part of a Cathar revivalist movement, the commune was shared by several unorthodox religious sects that had emerged or reemerged over the last few decades.  Finn grew up in a tolerant and multicultural community, where understanding of both the political and spiritual values of others was greatly prized.  

Growing up, Finn was captivated by television.  He wanted nothing more than to be an actor, imagining himself the next Patrick Stewart or Brian Blessed.  He threw himself into productions and plays, begging his parents for money to take voice lessons and acting workshops.  Talented, passionate, and hardworking, Finn's interest soon became a lifelong love affair.

When Finnegan was in his second year of college, Finn's powers manifested.  There was no seeming trigger to this event.   He had been in the canteen eating a lunch of mixed greens when he became violently ill.  It soon was apparent, after consulting with several physicians, that Finn was an emerging metahuman.  

It took Finn a long time to come to grips with what his body demanded.  Meat, apparently, was the only thing that he could digest.  Wracked with guilt, Finn spent many months attempting to cope with his powers, even as his body continued to mutate.  He sought out more and more extreme solutions, gurus, and snake oil salesmen.  He went to Dr. Reginald for a series of temporarily successful treatments, and even showed up at the door of several metahuman organizations begging for help.

In the end, nothing worked.

Eventually, Finn came to terms.  A combination of reflection and directed power evolution, as well as the support of his friends and family, allowed him to see his way through his turmoil.  Though never quite comfortable with what he must do to keep going, Finn strove to live a good and moral life.  

This hasn't been easy.  Massive and monstrous, he finds himself more and more pushed toward the margins of society.  However, Finn has come to accept it.  Wherever he wanders, Finn tries to make the world better, one act at a time.


Digestive Genetic Absorption
As the saying goes, you are what you eat.  This has proven doubly true for Finn.  His power causes his body to strip the genetic material from the things he eats, converting them into cellular mutations based on the subject.  Minor changes require relatively little, while larger scale changes need commensurately larger amounts.  Failure to direct these changes can cause random mutations, as was Finn's misfortune during his early attempts to control his ability.

Synopsis:  This is a Growth ability, allowing Finn to expand out his power set.

Chimeric Biology
Simply being able to absorb the information of multiple species would not be enough to cause the changes it has in Finn.  In addition to being able to replicate some truly esoteric traits, Finn's body also causes to work together harmoniously.  While some results might be undesirable, the traits do not manifest in way that cause poor functionality.  In addition, a great variety of sample sizes along a specific theme will eventually cause enhanced traits to emerge.

Synopsis:  This is a Support, Power-Boosting ability, as it allows the other powers to function together and better than they normally would.

Positive Mutations/Traits:
The Strength of 17 Harambes!
Finn has consumed several primates, in addition to elephants, rhinoceroses, dung beetles, and large reptiles.  He focused the development of his musculature to display the disproportional strength of several infamously mighty creatures, allowing him to project a strength beyond his bipedal frame.  

Synopsis: Super-Strength with a helping of Size.   Power scale is around the level of wrecking a building with some effort, but not a mountain.  

The Impossible Resiliency of the Immortal Water Bear!
Fun Fact - Water Bears (or tardigrades) are incredibly easy to kill.  Like, insanely. However, their relatively fragile physique and sensitivity to environmental effects have caused them to express a remarkable adaptation.  Water Bears can use a state called 'tuning', causing them to enter a sort of stasis.  They  shed most of their bodily fluids and produce a variety of proteins to shield their genetic coding and tissues from damage.  This effectively makes them nigh immune to radiation, extreme heat, extreme cold, and more.

Fin can enter a similar state, desiccating himself and suspending much of his biological functioning.  Even while not in such a state, Finnegan produces several the proteins the 'bears of the moss' uses to shield themselves.  He has further augmented this with the traits of various extremophiles, resulting in an incredible resiliency.  

Cassowary Finn is extremely resistant to heat, cold, radiation, pressure, acids, and environmental toxins.

Synopsis:  Biological Energy & Environmental Resistance.  Does nothing for magic or molecular disintegration beams.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Feck - A Honey Badger's Guide
It is a well-known fact that Honey Badgers do not give any sort of fuck.  Aggressive, mean-tempered, and willing to literally die before they will let go, they are perhaps one of the toughest carnivores on the planet.  Their hide is particularly thick, tough, and loose; making it difficult to cut or pierce or tear.  In addition, their biology is resistant to toxins and incredible stamina.  They can be locked in a death struggle for hours and never tire.  

Finn has further added onto this, seeking out creatures such as the black rhino for the thickness of their hides and the strength of their bones, or the hero shrew for its reinforced spine.  He has sought octopi and earthworms for their redundant organs, and camels for their fast-clotting blood.  Finn is tough not due to metallic skin or mystic invulnerability, but a biology bent toward resisting all harm.

Synopsis: Super-Durability and Stamina; Decentralized Biology.  

Abundant Health of the Sublime Gecko!
In addition to his incredible personal resilience, Finn has gained the ability to regenerate at impossible speeds.  Like the Gecko, Finn possesses a healing factor that allows him to grow entire limbs.  Finn has only layered onto this basic ability, taking qualities from starfish and higher order reptilians to completely regrow damaged parts of himself.  A practical upshot of this gives Finn an impossible amount of physical stamina, as incidental damage from extreme use of his physique is healed almost instantly.  Large scale regeneration requires extensive caloric intake, however.

Synopsis: Regeneration (Total); Resistance to Disease & Poisons

The Friendly Smile of a Crocodile
When talking about his powers, this is the one he never boasts of.  It is the thing that has allowed him to remain sane.  Crocodiles can live for up to three years without food, having the ability to store reserves in their bodies.  Finn has enhanced this further, seeking out animals known for their ability to store nutrients and gain the most possible from what they eat.  Many of his other powers were simply biproducts of his attempts to reach this state.  He will never be Perfect, but that does not absolve him from trying.

Before this power manifested, Finn was required to consume his bodyweight in animal protein every week to remain active, wasting much of what he took in.  Afterward, a 'mere' ten pounds of flesh can sustain him.  Additionally, Finn has the option to gorge himself like a snake or crocodile, consuming everything down to the hair and bones; and like a honey badger, digest it in its entirety without issue.

Synopsis:  Survival Power; Finn can store up food and water for prolonged periods.  May ignore sleep or pain as necessary to 'keep going'.  

Eye of the Tiger!  Nose of the Warthog!
Consuming so many different species have expanded Finn's sensory capabilities beyond those which humans are capable.  In addition, he can use those senses far more accurately.  From binocular vision, hearing heartbeats, or identifying personal scents, Finn possesses a wide variety of sensory tools beyond the norm.  

Synopsis: 'Basic' Super Senses; human set of five, amplified far beyond human ranges.

Unicorns Aren't Real!
Despite what some wags might tell you, the insidious Drop Bear and the mysterious Jackalope do not exist.  And indeed, some part of Finn's biology seems to recognize that fact.  Alterations to it made it by external influences are fought by his recalcitrant biology.  Any attempts to alter Finn, via magic or science, will be resisted, be they short term or permanent.

Synopsis: High Power Authority (Body); Finn's powers are strong enough not to be easily circumvented or shut down.  Any 'ongoing' effect will be treated as an injury to be regenerated.


Strict Carnivore
For most of his life after his powers manifested, Cassowary Finn has been attempting to overcome this aspect of his biology.   Due to his religious beliefs, he considers it immoral to kill and eat an animal but must do so to live.  It was only an intervention by his parents and community that made it so that Finn did not commit suicide by starvation.  

Finn cannot digest plant matter.  Period.  Unlike Obligate Carnivores, Finn is strictly confined to animal proteins.  

Biochemical Barrier
One of the many things Finn tried to circumvent his primary burden was eating monsters.  The world is rife with dangers, both local and alien, and Finn has attempted to add them to his diet.  Unfortunately, he has had no luck.  Something about magic or exotic genetics interferes with his body's ability to absorb it, or even gain any nutritional value.  The biochemical barrier is well in effect for him.

Never Perfect
The Cathar Heresy took place in Western Europe between the 12th and 13th Centuries.  It preached a doctrine of pacifism and tolerance, as well as equality of the genders.  Naturally, it was brutally repressed.  Finn belongs to a Revivalist movement of the once destroyed splinter religion.  Before his powers manifested, it had been his life's ambition was to become a 'Perfect'; living as an aesthetic to achieve higher communion with God.

Finn's religious beliefs do not square with his powers.  The Cathari are pacifists and, more importantly, vegetarians.  Finnegan constantly struggles with feelings of guilt and existential dread over the consumption of meat.  He struggles to maintain his faith with his oft violent lifestyle and immoral powerset.

Watch What You Eat
Unless directed with care, Finn's powers will go off on their own.  Finn has several expressions that he gained either when mastering his powers or when wounded and taking in calories to heal himself.  While his body will always try to 'enhance' him, it does not care about people view him in society or how he might fit into the world.  

Inhuman Appearance
Finn has... had a life.  A combination of small adjustments to his body from his various mutations, both deliberate and not, have left their marks.  Finn is nearly nine feet tall, with green, mottled skin.  He sports rose of sharp teeth and a pair of tusks, as well as a pair of inhuman eyes and ears that do not sit evenly on his head.  Finn constantly acts to downplay his appearance, often wearing tinted glasses and headphones to conceal some of his changes.  

A World of Cardboard
Something Finn had not considered when he had begun his journey was that the world is more fragile than people often think.  Though Finn can punch his way through a wall, he struggles with the day to day living that a being of his size, mass, and physical strength must deal with.  

Sensory Overload
A well-known way to shut Finn down is to overwhelm him with sensory information.  While Finn has actively cultivated his sensory suite to better help him with search and rescue, he has not yet been able to develop the proper brain infrastructure to support it.  Overstimulation can knock Finn on his butt more effectively than any semi.

Natural Healing Only
A strange side effect of Finn's regeneration ability is that medical procedures or mystical healing does not work on him.  His body immediately attempts to resist any alterations to itself, even if that is to close a gaping chest wound.  It will get to it in its own time, thank you very much.

Grass for His Pillow
Finn has taken upon himself a vow of poverty.  Though he is ever tied to his power, Finn decided to take up a sign of his devotion toward God through living a humble life.  Finn will not keep lodgings or items beyond a certain social class.  Any expensive, supernatural, or superpowered items he obtains during his journey will be given away; either to be sold for charity or give to those who could better use it.


Fin has trouble keeping himself in basic necessities.  He has no extraordinary equipment, only the clothing on his back.


None.


About a decade ago, Finnegan was a minor celebrity.  A big, attractive man with an easy charisma, he starred on the reality TV show, Meet the Metas.  His story of being a dedicated vegan and having powers that made that impossible resonated with the audience.  This catapulted him into a strange form of stardom, landing him several ad spots for fast food restaurants.  This became a disaster when, after eating a sample of a new taco joint's 'all beef' chalupa during a live commercial, promptly vomited.  This would have been fine... if he hadn't eaten a fully grown rhinoceros earlier in the day.

The memes were legendary.

Finn has traveled to every continent, and to roughly 90% of the countries in the world.  

He has an Oscar trophy amongst his few belongings.  

Finn's one vice is his audiobook catalogue; he currently has upwards of 600 titles in his digital library.  His favorite author is William Gibson.


Becoming Cassowary Finn
"Hey, I'm Finn," the Ogre said, his smile stretching wide, showing his teeth.  It was a sight to make children cry.  

It was too wide.  Finn sighed as he looked at his own reflection.  He tapped one of the tusks protruding from his lower lip with a vestigial claw.  Behind those same lips, three rows of serrated, triangular teeth waited.  Finnegan decided to give up on grinning.  

That maw had given him his most hated nickname.  'The Ogre'.  He hated it as he hated few things, but it was thankful it was not work.  There was some back and forth about the Troll or the Wendigo or the Eater, which Finn thanked God had never caught on.  No matter what he seemed to do, Finn never seemed to be able to rebrand himself.  Maybe he should get a better publicist; Marko hadn't returned his calls since...

"Oi!  Baby face!" A shrill voice called, breaking him out of his contemplation.  Finn looked down to see Roger Morey, his supervisor, and the best boy of this production, scowling up at him.  Rog was an overweight man in his early 30s, who always seemed to be angry at something.  And lately, that something was Finn.  

"The Director wants those trees moved fifteen minutes ago!"  Rog shouted up at him.  Finn had decided that Roger wasn't trying to berate him.  Almost literally half Finn's height, he guessed that Rog thought that the much taller meta might be slow or have hearing problems.

Heh.

Carefully, Finn stepped away from the sheet of glass he had been examining.  He gave Rog a tight-lipped smile, no teeth.  Rog just scowled more deeply.  

The cyclone that had hit the Cassowary Coast had wiped out about 80% of the habit of the titular bird.  Already at risk, more than 200 of the endangered animals had been killed. It broke Finn's heart to see it. They kept finding corpses; not just of the large, flightless birds, but of people as well.  

Finn had volunteered for the Search and Rescue teams that had been deployed by the Australian government to deal with the disaster. Finn had been firmly rebuffed, as he had something of a reputation.  His frightening appearance also did not help matters; Finn looked like some hideous version of every evil fantasy race blended.

Luckily, Finn knew a guy.  A movie crew filming on location was caught in the cyclone, though thankfully without loss of life.  The producer, Todd Aldrich, had been responsible for the fateful Taco commercial that had landed him in his present circumstances.  Though Finn had felt a little bad for the guilt trip, Todd did owe him.  

So, Finn got this job.  It landed somewhere in the occupational space of a bulldozer and a donkey.  The production company was trying to salvage the shoot.  So, when a meta was available that was both cheaper to ship and easier to work with than construction equipment, they leapt at the chance.  

It surprised Finn how friendly the people here were; even the ones that had seen the commercial.  He had to explain his dietary restrictions again.  Giving a guy like Finn an 'all meat' taco and then cutting with 60% wheat gluten hadn't been the best move on the company's part. The story made Finn an instant hit with the crew, except for Rog, of course.  But Rog was Rog; he probably came out of the womb scowling at his mom.

The trees he had been asked for move were a stand of beautiful old mangroves that had been knocked over in the recent kerfuffle.  It was a testament to how strong the storm had been - mangroves were famous for that strange and extensive root system that was supposed to make them resistant to casual uprooting.  

It was into the third tree that Finn found it.  A cassowary nest had been built in the shelter of one of the mangroves.  The wind hadn't touched it; the tree hadn't fallen on it.  And the four eggs inside it were intact.

To Finn, cassowary eggs looked like limes with delusions of grandeur.  They were large, ripe looking ovals about 15 centimeters long.  Finn took a quick, sharp intake of breath through his nose.  He could smell the corpse of what he presumed was their mother nearby.  Finn heaved a sigh.  

The world was terrible like that.

Carefully, Finn reached down and put the large eggs in his palm with utmost care.  One of them shook a little when he let go of it.  Close to hatching?

"Don't worry.  I gotcha."  

As if in response to his words, a piece of one of the eggs in his hands began to crack as a tiny beak pecked its way out.  A small, featherless head peered up at him and he smiled down at it.  No teeth, though.

"Hey Buddy," he said.  It looked so cute; all pink and helpless and...

CRAWWRK!!!!

The effect was immediately ruined as the loudest scratching caw he had ever heard came from the thing.  Finn nearly dropped the hatchling and its unborn siblings in shock.  He had expected a little chick writ large, not whatever that was.  

Finn had been in Japan just after Spark had hit Tokyo.  His Perfect had sent him, after one of the Kirishitan enclaves still in the Gotō Islands had gone silent.  Finn remembered rowing up walking along that beach and finding a three-headed turtle that breathed fire.  It had not been nearly so loud at this little guy.  And the turtle had smelled better, too.  Poor thing.

Letting out a cough, Finn smiled down at the newborn and smiled down at it sympathetically.  "Just gets worse from here, lad.  Come on, we'll get you something to eat."

---

Years later, Finn would reflect on that day.  The film crew had immediately adopted the clutch and the little guys grew up like weeds.  Finn was put in charge of taking care of the rapidly growing birds in addition to his role as 'talkative bulldozer'.  

After a few months, the production broke up.  Finn squared things with Todd, said goodbye to the crew, and even had a tearful goodbye with Roger.  What a strange man.

And... Finn moved on.  He put the production out of his mind and went forward to the next journey.

Sometime later, the actual film was released.  Passion in Principle was the story of an aging biologist struggling to complete his study of the local wildlife of the Queensland Coastline.  Unable to cope with his loss of his late wife, he was given to drink and had isolated himself from his friends and family.  His life is soon interrupted by a local woman who shows him his connection to nature and the vivid beauty all around him.  A memorable highlight of the film had been the advent of the cyclone and the aftermath.  

Finn remembered vividly hauling each one of the trees in for that shot.  The Director had him break a couple in half to get that 'visceral' feel he was looking for.  It worked, too.  The sun shined dimly though the shattered tree line, the shot reflecting the hopelessness the scientist felt.  After searching for the scattered bits of his work, he came across a nest of cassowary chicks chirping cutely.  Finn had smiled wryly at that.  No teeth, of course.

Finn went to the premier at Todd's insistence.  A scowling Rog find a 9-foot-tall tuxedo for 'that overgrown ape'.  It was a grand night.  Finn caused a bit of a stir, being the only person of his stature on the red carpet.  

It was a little melodramatic for Finn's taste, but the cinematography was gorgeous.  Rog was a tearful wreck sitting beside him.  The angry little guy was a huge sentimentalist, Finn had discovered.  He clapped a hand on Rog's shoulder and only chuckled when he scowled back.  

It was at the end of the film that Finn's life forever.  He saw his name in the credits as expected as one of the grips, and he had been content with that.  Then, just before the very end where the studio logo was shown --

A Special Thank You to the Hard Work and Dedication of Finnegan 'Cassowary Finn' Cassidy without whom this production would not have been possible.

Finn had smiled then; all teeth.

---

Had that been the end of it, Finn would have had a footnote in an IMDb entry somewhere.  Instead, Passion in Principle was a smash hit, going on to win four Academy Awards; including Best Leading Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Picture.  Suddenly, Cassowary Finn was the guy you called as a good luck charm for a production.  No one called him Ogre or Troll or Wendigo any longer...

...he was Cassowary Finn.