Yo!

As I've been intermittently posting stories on this site for quite some time, it occurs that I should put something in this profile space.
So here - NOT shamelessly stolen from the Dead or Alive fighting/semi-hentai videogame series, I might add - is my bio.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, that image on the left is me cosplaying Tuxedo Kamen from Sailormoon!
Many thanks to my good buddy FinalBeyond for the background image.

Name: Manwards ("Manny" to close friends)
Nationality: British (sips tea)
Gender: Male
Birthdate: May 8
Age: 23
Bloodtype: Blue ("Shito desu!")
Height: 1.67 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight: 56 kg (123 lb)
Measurements: -- (I'll get back to you on those)
Fighting Style: Sarcasm
Occupation: Warehouse Person (Curse my lack of ambition!)
Favourite Food(s): Apples, Chicken Pie
Hobbies: Anime (Sailormoon, Evangelion, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, etc.), Videogames (Sonic, Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, Halo, etc.)

I also thought I'd give you some insight into my stories: why and how they were conceived and what my personal feelings about them are.

Our Special Little Place: A Sailor V Story (Complete)
OSLP was the first prose story I had done in several years, since a few short stories in college. The intermediate years saw me turn out several fanfiction stories in script form, which, as enjoyable as it was, was extremely limiting. After watching the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon anime in its entirety and being profoundly affected by it, I decided it would be a good subject for my first foray back into prose. Thing is, I knew I was rusty, so I decided to write something shorter and simpler before tackling a "proper" SM story. Sailor V, the original persona of Minako Aino, who would become Sailorvenus, seemed like a good choice, and OSLP was born.

While I recall putting just as much effort into OSLP as I do with all of my stories - reading it over and over, changing words and moving paragraphs until I'm sure it's saying exactly what I want it to say - the end result, looking back at it now, is problematic. The story is simple and predictable, being little more than a "monster of the week" episode with a rather flimsy premise. It did, however, serve its purpose perfectly: the lessons I learned writing it, and the confidence I gained, allowed me to move on to a proper Sailormoon story...

Sanctity (Complete)
Of course, the entire foundation of the Sailormoon series in all its forms is the relationship between Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba. As such, I wanted to write a story that focused on it exclusively. I made the decision to involve only Usagi and Mamoru in my first "real" story, leaving the rest of the Sailor Team on the sidelines. At the time, the plan was to write an anthology of stories, each focusing on one girl and her particular strengths, with Sanctity being the first. In the end, the "Pretty Soldier Anthology Series" didn't happen - not exactly - but I remain very proud of its "first entry".

In particular I relished the chance to write a wedding scene, something not seen in the anime itself. Looking back on it recently, I wasn't sure about my decision to include so many references to minor characters from the series. However, a friend pointed out that we witness the wedding in the form of Usagi's dream. It being the most important day of her life, it makes perfect sense that every detail and every person would have been important to her. Usagi as a character is as much fun to write as she is to watch. The plot of Sanctity itself is little more than a slight evolution of OSLP, but it worked as a way to highlight the bond between Usagi and Mamoru and to show Usagi's strength of character and compassion to its fullest. Looking back on the story now, the only regret I have is using honourifics (such as -san) in the narrative itself, outside of the dialogue. As every character referred to every other character in a slightly different way, it made the perspective unnecessarily confusing. This is something I plan to address at some point. Otherwise, I remain very pleased with Sanctity, and as its many positive reviews outnumber feedback for my other stories fivefold, it is also my most popular.

Sonic and the Tectonic Engine (Complete)
As ideas for the "Pretty Soldier Anthology Series" stalled, I finally decided to focus elsewhere. Sonic the Hedgehog was the natural choice. As a hardcore Sonic fan since his birth back in 1991, I love the little guy more than is probably healthy and, much like Sanctity, wanted to tell a story that was essentially a vehicle for his best attributes. From the beginning, I wanted to focus primarily on Sonic and on action and adventure, rather than relying on the ballooning cast being introduced into the games. The plot for Tectonic slowly took shape, and following the disappointment of the dismal 15th anniversary game for the Xbox 360, I decided that if SEGA couldn't do him justice, I'd try to do it myself.

The end result is a mix of platforming action and boss battles, the story itself moving swiftly along with the occasional chunk of exposition. Sonic takes centre stage, with Tails and Knuckles serving more minor roles, and Doctor Eggman is introduced as the primary villain. While I don't necessarily agree with Sonic Team and their habit of using Eggman as a plot device merely to introduce another, more powerful villain, writing this story did give me some insight as to why they do it.

Like Sanctity, this story accomplished exactly what I wanted it to: it portrayed Sonic precisely as I see him. The epilogue, in particular, is something that I'm proud of in that respect. If somebody were to ask me how I viewed Sonic, what he meant to me, then I would simply point them there. I'm also happy with how the story itself turned out: while secondary to the action sequences, it stands against the formula currently employed in the games and ignores a lot of easy plot devices, the Chaos Emeralds chief among them. Unfortunately, in a contrast to Sanctity, Tectonic remains my most unpopular story, with less than a handful of readers. Readership is secondary to personal accomplishment in my eyes, but even so, I hope more will give it and its seemingly vapid premise the benefit of the doubt.

Attractive Force (Complete)
The aforementioned "Pretty Soldier Anthology Series" never came to fruition, partly because writing a self-contained, fully developed story for ten different characters would be incredibly time consuming, and partly because I wasn't enthusiastic about many of the ideas. One of the ideas that I was enthusiastic about, however, was Complex, a Sailormercury-centric story that eventually evolved into Attractive Force. Given my huge crush on the lovely Ami Mizuno, writing a story about her was always a priority. Taking the basic premise of Complex - a Metal Gear Solid-type story where Mercury would use her abilities to infiltrate a military complex - I developed the central romance plot and added Rei, Makoto and Minako as supporting characters. The decision to exclude Usagi from the story was made early on. She has such a strong presence that I feared her inclusion would overshadow Ami, my chosen protagonist. As seen in the anime, even in episodes focused on the other girls, it is still Sailormoon who steps in at the very end to deliver the final blow. Wanting to give Ami and the other girls a chance to stand on their own feet, I set the story at the same time as Sanctity to explain Usagi's absence, although she is still frequently alluded to, given her massive importance to her friends.

I enjoyed writing Attractive Force considerably, and my handling of several more characters and the mix of action, drama and exposition are things I'm pleased with. While there are still more fanfiction projects that I want to write, I am developing plans for my own original works, with one eye on publication at some point in the future. With my fanfiction stories getting more complex, and each one teaching me more about writing in general, I'm hopeful that these projects will have sufficiently "sharpened my teeth" for when I cut loose the safety net of an established universe and head for unknown waters.

True Colours (In-Progress)
Originally titled Cocktail, this was another planned entry in the "Pretty Soldier Anthology Series" that I saw potential in. With Sanctity focused solely on Sailormoon and Attractive Force starring Mercury and featuring Mars, Jupiter and Venus, True Colours is my chance to handle the Sailor Soldiers of the Outer Solar System. Featuring the entire team of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn to some degree, the story will be a little darker in fitting with their more mature personalities, with a focus on drama over romance. Look for updates in the next few days!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to get in touch to discuss any of my stories or writing in general.

For now, adios!