Character from Pale by Wildbow
A Host practitioner who houses a dark spirit and works at a tackle shop — Kennet's friendliest weapon of mass destruction and the girls' most reliable teacher.
Matthew is the gentle giant of Kennet's Others community. He's friendly, methodical, willing to break rules when the rules are wrong, and houses a spirit called the Doom that makes him the heaviest hitter in the Undercity when he lets it loose. The contrast between his personality (warm, patient, encouraging) and his capabilities (cataclysmic, escalating, uncontainable) is the series' most effective illustration of the Practice's central tension: power costs something, and the cost is usually borne by everyone nearby. He can absorb pain through kissing — a Host ability that he uses to help Louise Bayer, the dying witness, in exchange for her cooperation. He was trained young by his father, a Heartless practitioner killed by witch hunters. He serves as the girls' primary teacher alongside Edith, his life partner. Matthew provided Charles Abrams' alibi for the night of the murder — they were together getting books — but Matthew left, and only Bluntmunch stayed. This gap in the alibi is one of the investigation's key pressure points.
Broad-shouldered with a rounded jawline and a short beard. Looks twenty-seven to thirty-two but may be barely more than a teenager — magical aging effects from hosting his spirit. Works at Buckheed, the local tackle and hunting shop, and dresses accordingly: practical, outdoorsy, approachable.
Also known as: Matt, Matthew