Welcome to Gaia! ::

Name: Matthew Gowan

Nickname: Matt, primarily. His old group used to call him ‘Ace.’

Gender/Pronouns: Cis male, he/him

Age: 20

Birthday: November 13, 1998

Sign: Scorpio

Gemstone: Topaz

Blood Type: AB+

Fav. Food: He loves curries of any sort, especially the spicy ones.

Hated Food: Matthew can’t stand anything that sticks to his teeth. Caramel is especially egregious.

School: Matthew’s going to Sovereign Heights Preparatory to ease himself into possibly going to college. He’s got no idea what he wants to do with his life right now.

Occupation: Matthew’s still helping out at his father’s flower shop. It sorta pays the bills, he guesses. (He won’t admit he’s actually starting to like it.)

Hobbies:
“Hardcore Parkour.” - Becoming a senshi has honestly only given Matthew more motivation to continue to run, jump, and climb to strange places. It’s not unusual to find Matthew out and about, challenging himself against the latest obstacle in the city. And any obstacle that’s too hard to surmount? Well, he’s got Fulgurite for that! He likes doing it for the rush, for the most part, the excitement of finding new places, and the feeling of being able to conquer the latest new construction.

“A Fantasy Land.” - When left to his own devices, and boy, is he left to his own devices a lot, Matthew dives into the world of fantasy. It distracts him from what his life is and gives him fantastic things to think about, dream about. He reads fantasy and sci-fi novels, plays fantasy and sci-fi games, RPGs especially, watches fantasy and sci-fi movies, and even participates in online communities on occasion, chattering about headcanons, theories, and even the occasional original character. He tends to write a lot of anti-heroes, himself.

“What? It’s Pretty.” - Orah’s disappearance hit Matthew extremely hard, and he tried to find ways to compensate for her being gone, little comforts to remind him of her and not make him feel so alone. Matthew’s mind went to the family business, to the flower arrangement Orah loved, and quietly, unnoticed, he actually started paying attention. Matthew has some talent for flower arrangement, having been around it all his life, though he avoids admitting he actually enjoys it. Still, it is suspicious all the plants in his room look so nice now...

Virtues:
“Emotions Run Deep.” - Matthew feels everything, and he feels it deeply. He’s the type of person who can’t watch certain shows or they’ll start crying, but it also means he’s the type of person who ultimately sympathizes with most every cause he comes across. These emotions drive a lot of his life decisions and make him a passionate person. When he loves someone or something, he does so totally and completely, and his dedication to the things and people he loves is unmatched. He won’t give up on those things and people. He can’t.

“Can’t Fool Me.” - Matthew isn’t particularly gullible, and isn’t misled easily. He has a good tendency of seeing through tricks and games, and Matthew won’t tolerate being taken for a fool. Little details in his environment or the people in front of him don’t miss his notice easily, even if his occasional closed-in tendencies can make it seem like he isn’t paying attention to them. It makes him good at cutting through bullshit, and also solving the occasional puzzle or two...

“Let Me Help.” - Previously, Matthew counted that there were just a few people that wouldn’t really leave him. That, unfortunately, seems to have shattered. His school got switched, separating him from his group. His sister went missing, for months on end. While it decreased Matthew’s general emotional stability, it also resulted in him putting forth more initiative. He’s increasingly generous to those around him, offering assistance and help where he can, offering his bed for someone to crash if it’s needed, offering to take people out for food, to eat, for fun. He goes out of his way for those people he is passionate about, and even, on occasion, for the people he isn’t. He’s desperate to keep those connections and to hold them, but also, there’s a part of him that just likes the feeling that generosity gives him.

Flaws:
“How Dare You!” - The flip side of Matthew’s deep emotions, Matthew can often become overly sensitive, seeming to take a lot of things, especially even minor slights against his family, his origins, and himself, oddly personally. A teasing joke can lead to him feeling legitimately hurt and snapping, a small comment about someone else can make him wonder if someone is actually talking about him, instead. Combined with his observational skills, this can sometimes make him come off as hypervigilant. He also easily notices the absence of things that he loves and cares for, and those absences hit him personally and deeply, often leading into depressive spells that he can have trouble digging out of.

“Hold My Beer.” - Telling Matthew that he should probably step back and reconsider before he does something likely isn’t going to get anyone anywhere. He’s impulsive, often making sudden decisions based on too little information. Despite his insightful tendencies, patience has never been his strong suit, and feeling alone with empty friendships for so long has only beaten at that patience. Why be patient with others when no one was patient with him? Why bother with others when no one else was there?

“I Swear To F--” - Matthew got kicked out of Meadowview in the first place for getting into fights, and unfortunately, that hot-headed attitude hasn’t really left. Arguably cultivated by the increasing presence of Chaos in his mind and the decreasing presence of his sister, and therefore, his stable rock, Matthew is ready to fight the moment the opportunity for it comes up, it seems. He’s quick to snap, especially when he interprets someone’s words or actions incorrectly, or interprets someone as trying to order him around. Age has slightly tempered his tendency to break things, but unfortunately, he has occasionally shifted to breaking faces, instead.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Eyes: His eyes are bright green, narrow, with a slight upward slant.

Hair: His hair is naturally a medium brown, but he’s been dying it black for so long he’s not sure if he really wants to stop. His hair has unfortunately suffered for it, health-wise, but the black with streaks look is cool, at least? (He’s probably going to eventually need to shave his head.)

Face: He’s got an oval-shaped face, with an increasingly straight jawline as he’s matured over the years. His Irish heritage is obvious in the shape of his nose, pointed upwards. His lips are a little fuller and he has fairly thick eyebrows, a nod to his Middle Eastern heritage.

Skin Tone: His skin tone is a warm mid brown.

Body Type: He still stands at 5’8”, much to his chagrin, with a generally narrow build. He’s got the lean build of someone who enjoys agility athletics, with long muscle that leaves his body fit but not particularly buff.

Clothes: He’s a little less into maintaining the punk look these days, perhaps just from so many years of having to wear uniforms for this and that. Rarely getting to wear his preferred outfits has tempered his look a tad. Most of his outfits these days are dark jeans with bright shirts as accents, bright sneakers, and the occasional pop of jewelry or a chain here and there.

This looks great to me, have fun!