Evelyn McKinnon

## Evelyn Faye McKinnon

Evelyn is the 28th Operator of the Pinehaven Emergency Broadcast Station, and the main narrator of the Lonely Broadcast series.

## Description

Evelyn is described as being in her late 20s, nearing 30. She has long red hair often worn in a braid, fair freckled skin, and large blue eye(s). She is also often described as being small, anemic, and genuinely frail in appearance. She bruises easily and often appears sick. She is usually wearing casual clothes, like jeans, hoodies, baggy t-shirts, and has a favorite red flannel shirt that is patched in several places. She always wears the same pair of brown work boots that are slightly too big for her.

As of "We're Always on the Air at 104.6FM", Evelyn has lost one of her eyes.

Her personality is often described as being sarcastic, dry, and unnecessarily hostile at times. However, as she begins making friends with her co-workers, she is revealed to be funny and affectionate to those who have earned her trust. She has a quick wit, a crude sense of humor, and is prone to chaotic decisions. She has a fear of emotional intimacy, which she is slowly working through with the help of her close friends.

## Early Life

Not much is known of Evelyn's childhood, aside from the fact that she grew up in Pinehaven during her Elementary School years. Her father was a firefighter. After his death, Evelyn's mother remarried and the family moved away to the other side of the mountain.

When she was young, Evelyn had a close bond with her father and spent time with him at the fire station after school. She followed him on several calls and was generally interested in everything he did. Frank was protective of his daughter, never letting her get too close to the forest and never explaining why. Given Frank's involvement with the Pinehaven Forest Rangers, it is likely that he would have explained everything to her when she was old enough to know. Before his death, he gave her his coat and his vintage radio, which she still has in her possession.

## The Graduation Party

After high school, Evelyn went to college to pursue journalism with the goal of working in news broadcasting. She received a bachelor's degree. During this time, she also worked for the college radio station as a DJ. Not much is known about her social life in college, other than the fact that she kept in touch with two other students from Pinehaven: Jennifer and Elijah.

After getting her degree, Evelyn and several of her classmates (including her best friend, Jenny), attended a bonfire party in the woods near the town where they grew up. During this party, Evelyn saw something that disturbed her and began drinking excessively to make herself black out. She later reveals to her co-worker, Finn, that she saw her own father's decomposed face on the body of a mountain lion.

## Moving in with Jennifer

After college, she moved back to Pinehaven to live with with her best friend, Jennifer Cook. She recalls the first few months being pleasant enough, until her untreated alcoholism caused a rift in their friendship over time. After the police were called for a domestic disturbance between the two, Evelyn sank into a deeper depression and nearly drowned herself in a bathtub, where she was found by Jennifer. Almost immediately after, Jennifer and her boyfriend Elijah told Evelyn that she had to leave if she couldn't get her alcohol problem under control.

Evelyn spent the next few weeks living on the Elementary School playground, sleeping underneath a park slide before spending a short time in the hospital and later joining the 104.6FM crew.

## At 104.6FM

Evelyn began working at 104.6FM, presumably after its last Operator had left or was killed. Initially, she accepts the position due to the fact that the job came with a place to sleep at night.

She quickly learns that the broadcast station is a hub of strange and paranormal activity, including amalgamated creatures and a mysterious fog that always brings disaster. However, she chooses to stay out of pure desperation.

Over time, Evelyn's hatred of the place turns to a noble obligation, in which she feels real responsibility for being the protector of Pinehaven. She learns more about her skills and worth as a person as she is forced to take up the heavy burden that comes with being the primary Operator of 104.6FM. However, she also resents the location for being a constant reminder of the loved ones she's lost to the forest. As of "Dead Air", Evelyn has remained at 104.6FM for over 3 years, breaking the record for the longest lasting employee to ever work at the emergency broadcast tower.

## Relationships

### Jennifer Cook

Jennifer was Evelyn's best childhood friend and first love. They moved in together as young adults and lived in an apartment in Pinehaven for several months before splitting on bad terms. Although the true nature of their relationship has not been fully explored in written form, Evelyn has confirmed that she did pursue a romantic relationship with Jennifer, but that she was rejected in favor of their mutual friend, Elijah. On New Year's Eve 2022, Evelyn reveals that Jennifer kissed her at least once, giving her mixed messages. While Evelyn remembers their friendship with rose-tinted glasses, memories of Jennifer paint their relationship as being somewhat toxic and volatile.

During Evelyn's first months at 104.6FM, Jennifer went missing after she wandered into the woods during a sleepwalking incident. She called the station once, but Evelyn did not immediately recognize her voice. Later, her ghostly presence was heard in the pipes and over the phones at the broadcast station, often replaying their break-up argument from earlier that year. Years after her death, Evelyn still has hallucinations of Jennifer's dead body and feels guilt for not being able to save her.

As time goes on, Evelyn is realizing that she cannot allow herself to continue being haunted by her lost love. With Daniel and Finn's help, she is slowly beginning to let Jenny go and open up her heart to the people who love her in the present, while also admitting that their relationship was not as perfect as she remembers it to be.

### Daniel Esperanza

Daniel is Evelyn's primary co-host, closest friend, and the "second half of her brain cell". Initially, she disliked him when they first met, finding him to be over-enthusiastic, loud, and annoying. However, over time they found enjoyment in bouncing jokes back and forth, and Evelyn noticed how their personalities brought a balance between them. She began showing more care for Dan when he suffered an injury to his ears that left him mostly deaf, but he still chose to come back to work and help her run the radio station, telling her that he "wasn't done being her nuisance yet". She began learning ASL so that they can communicate better.

By the time they had been working together for several months, they began referring to one another as friends rather than co-workers. Her nickname for him is "Danny Boy", a reference to the Irish folk ballad. One summer, they took a weekend road trip together, where Evelyn attended the wedding of one of Daniel's relatives. During this outing, Evelyn showed Daniel the park where she used to live before they were interrupted by a child running into the woods. They were able to save the boy, but both ended up with extreme injuries in the process. This was the event that inspired their intense protective behaviors toward one another.

As of "Dead Air", Daniel and Evelyn have been best friends for several years and now live in the same apartment building, often staying at one another's homes and spending time together outside work. Evelyn has expressed on multiple occasions that one of her greatest fears - if not *the* greatest - is losing Dan in the same way that she lost Jennifer. Their relationships is built on a foundation of mutual pestering, jokes in the face of danger, and calling each other rude names while also sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings. Daniel's sensitive and emotionally open nature helps to inspire Evelyn to be more affectionate and trusting. Evelyn's willingness to be more loving toward her friends is evident during the second invasion of Pinehaven, when she is the first to say "I love you" to Daniel while he's bleeding out in the back of her truck. She considers him a soulmate and the best friend she's ever had.

### Steven Finn

Finn and Evelyn first met when Finn was charged with investigating the death of Jennifer Cook. He took Evelyn into custody, where the Chief of Police explained the true nature of the 104.6FM broadcast station. Finn and Evelyn would meet again months later, after Finn leaves the police force and begins working as a glorified errand-boy for the outpost. Eventually, he begins spending more time at 104.6FM, performing repairs around the station and keeping an eye on Evelyn and Daniel. Although he often expresses that he thinks they're incompetent and irresponsible, he also shows genuine care for their well-being. Their friendship is further cemented the night Evelyn loses her eye, when Finn rescues her and Daniel from certain death.

During the events of "Dead Air", Finn has been working as a part-timer at the station as well as a Pinehaven Forest Ranger. When he goes missing with a group of other rangers, Evelyn and Daniel go looking for him and are devastated when they believe he has been killed. When they find him alive but badly injured, they rescue him from an amalgamate beast called The Hydra and successfully repay the debt they owed him from years before. At one point, Evelyn describes Finn as being "incapable of *not* helping", due to the fact that he refuses to abandon them even when his own life is on the line.

Evelyn describes Finn as being sort of like a "cool uncle" to her. She trusts him with information she doesn't want Daniel to know, like details of her relapse back into alcoholism, knowing that he won't judge her. He is one of very few people whose opinion she takes into full consideration no matter what. They bond together over their shared loss of parents and the guilt they feel for not being able to protect people that they loved. Unlike Daniel, Finn is a native of Pinehaven, which gives him and Evelyn common ground that she doesn't have with her other coworker. Part of her trust in Finn stems from the fact that he reminds her of her father, which she describes on New Year's Eve of 2022.

### Frank McKinnon

Frank was Evelyn's father, who was killed when she was a child. Evelyn remembers him as being gruff but kind, imposing on the outside but surprisingly gentle. She was incredibly bonded to her father and would follow him everywhere, spending time at the fire station whenever she had a chance and even dressing like him. When he died, Evelyn kept his fireman's coat and his radio in storage, carrying them with her well into her adulthood.

When Evelyn ran into her father again in the woods after her graduation, the sight of his dead face sent her spiraling into a mental breakdown that resulted in an ongoing struggle with addiction. Evelyn claims that she thinks about her father all the time, and is always wondering if he'd be proud of her.

### Evelyn's Mother

Evelyn's unnamed mother is estranged from her and the two have not spoken in several years. Evelyn recalls her mother being superstitious and cautious, sheltering her in an overbearing way after Frank's death. She recalls how she would always keep the curtains closed and lock Evelyn in the basement when the fog rolled in, but she refused to explain why.

Evelyn claims that her relationship with her mother truly ended when her alcoholism began. She says her mother was "not a fan" of her after that, and refused to give her a place to stay when she became homeless.

### Elijah

Elijah is Jennifer Cook's ex-boyfriend and a mutual friend from Pinehaven. Although their friendship was never close, Evelyn recalls growing jealous and resentful of him when he started dating Jenny. She also holds a grudge for his involvement in Jennifer's decision to kick Evelyn out of their apartment, although she understands the reasons behind it. After Jenny's death, she begins feeling sorry for Elijah.

During the events of "We're Always on the Air at 104.6FM", Elijah begins stalking Evelyn at the broadcast station. He claims he's just "trying to scare her". During an armed stand-off, Elijah and Evelyn argue about who is hurting more after losing Jennifer, and they begin to understand that they are both suffering equally valid forms of trauma. When Elijah leaves, vowing to move away and never come back to Pinehaven, Evelyn states that she hopes he finds a better life. They never meet again.

## Trivia

* Evelyn's middle and last initial are "F.M." Her father, Frank McKinnon, also bears the initials "F.M."
* Evelyn enjoys doodling and often sketches weird little pictures, but whether or not she is good at art is up for debate.
* She speaks fluent American Sign Language.
* Although her family ancestry is never mentioned, "MacKinnon" is a Scottish Highland clan.
* Since working at the broadcast station, Evelyn has developed a general dislike for birds.
* Although Evelyn struggles with substance abuse, she tries one of Finn's cigarettes and is disgusted by it.
* Evelyn suffers from complex PTSD, which is brought upon by several triggers including the word "gingersnap", talking about graduation, and the smell of rusty water.
* She is notoriously terrible at dancing.
* Each of the Operators represent a different aspect of heart, brain, and soul. Evelyn, with her deep, interwoven connections to every aspect of the story, represents the soul.

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1. ↑ Evelyn's favorite flannel was damaged during "Accounts from a Lonely Broadcast Station".
2. ↑ In "Dead Air", Evelyn hears her father's voice over the phone repeating the phrase "it'll all make sense in time", alluding to one of the last conversations she likely had with him.
3. ↑ In Chapter 2 of Dead Air, that same radio with her father's initials on the bottom (F.M.) is what she uses to listen to Daniel's broadcast during the invasion of Pinehaven.
4. ↑ Revealed near the end of "Dead Air"
5. ↑ In "Dead Air", Evelyn expresses some resentment for Elijah being chosen instead of her, and gets aggressive toward Daniel for using the same nickname Jennifer would refer to her as, claiming "I was hers."
6. ↑ During "Accounts from a Lonely Broadcast Station", Jennifer calls the station several times to talk about her insomnia. These conversations are the last ones she and Evelyn have while Jenny is still alive.
7. ↑ In "Happy New Year from 104.6 FM", Finn refers to his two co-workers as such.
8. ↑ In Dead Air, while drunk, Evelyn tells Daniel that she would miss him more than anyone if something were to happen to him.

During the first invasion of Pinehaven, when Daniel is presumed dead, she has a full emotional breakdown.
9. ↑ In "Dead Air", Finn tries to convince Evelyn to reconcile with her mother after telling the story of how he lost his mom.
10. ↑ In "We're Always on the Air at 104.6FM", Elijah uses this excuse even though he's carrying a loaded gun with ammunition.