Appearance

Manuel is a young, 23 year old man of average height and slight build. He has black hair, brown when younger, and brown brown (not a typo) eyes. In the wild he can often be found wearing his preferred combination of red shirt and khaki shorts, but occasionally spices it up with a white shirt emblazoned with the majestic image of a pink flamingo.

Personality

Despite having extremely limited (i.e. nonexistent) experience with the outside world, Manuel has miraculously developed an extremely outgoing personality, which is in direct contradiction with his mediocre level of confidence. 

Fueled by an endless supply of energy, “borrowed” from those around him, Manuel brings light and laughter to everyone in his vicinity with a peculiar, though occasionally inappropriate, sense of humor.

While gaming he is capable of achieving an intense level of calm and focus, allowing him to defeat even the most difficult of opponents. Unless he loses, in which case all those around him should immediately don earplugs to protect their hearing as he will almost certainly erupt in an explosion of deafening proportions.

Background

Born to a humble, yet strong, single mother, Manuel spent the first four years of his life in Spain. He then moved to the United States, where he spent his childhood watching Spongebob and playing games. 

Once he turned 18, Manuel travelled back to Spain with his mom and two younger brothers. It was there that he met his mentor Stephen, a man of sheer will and intense kindness. He then spent the next three short years following in this man’s footsteps, attempting to emulate his positive outlook and cheerful attitude. 

Shortly before his 21st birthday, Manuel took what he learned and moved back to America with his family in search of new beginnings. In the land of the Carolinas that is North, Manuel assisted the people of this new town by working at Best Buy. With his knowledge of computers, he shared it with the people in need of a new technological machine. Showing promise, he was named “Private”.

While working at Best Buy, a new challenger arrived… Anime Games!!! Manuel decided that his future would be in Japan creating games with “culture”. With this new goal, he found the one. The one that would guide him through the world of the unknown. His name, is Shohei-sensei. This legend taught Manuel everything he currently knows. From hiragana to katakana, and a touch of Kanji, because of this, Manuel started to get a feel for the language.

A few months later, one thing led to another and Manuel departed from Best Buy. Fret not, for this was a calculated endeavor. Manuel now wanted to assist the world of the young. He became a Substitute Teacher in Green Hope High School, and tried his best to help the students continue there studies while the teachers was not present. One day, he decided to venture even further beyond and substituted as a Teacher Assistant. This one event would change his future at Green Hope.

As it turns out, Manuel substituted for a special Ed Assistant. Seeing the way the students would interact in the classroom and with him, he felt a new appreciation for these teachers and the kids. Every once in a while, Manuel would go and sub in the Special Ed room finding himself a new friend, Mr. Ngo. As time continued, Manuel upgraded and gained a new position: Building Sub.

Fast forward to summer, and the Capstone project commences. This project is a collaboration with other designers to create the ultimate game. Luckily, Manuel was blessed with great teammates that actually do their work and don’t relay on the best person to do the job for everyone (High School PTSD). Continuing his work as a sub, with university work, and Japanese, Manuel is at the homestretch of completing 1 aspect of his goal.