[b]Name:[/b] Leopold “Leo” Christophe
[b]Age:[/b] 28
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Description:[/b]
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[img]http://i.imgur.com/zlTRuNl.jpg[/img]
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Standing at six feet tall, with a lean but muscular physique, he’s definitely not the boyish teen idol type despite his more than passable features and manages to look quite like a credible soldier when he gets serious or wears his full gear, even if some feel his ensembles and looks are much too colorful and more befit some kind of celebrity than a pilot. Leo’s usually dressed in dark red boots, white pants, a black shirt and a white bomber jacket with [url=http://i.imgur.com/wU2xldi.png]his own personal insignia[/url], same colors as his Vanguard, on the left shoulder.

Whenever he's made to sortie he's encased in a unique, [url=http://i.imgur.com/jCQTzkZ.gif]especially created armor[/url] colored white and red like his machine. The suit links directly to Leo's Vanguard once inside the cockpit, providing the pilot with a helmet-mounted HUD as well as motion capture and voice command controls for ease of piloting. Not only that, but the ensemble greatly increase pilot survivability, being heavily armored and designed to protect the wearer from extreme environment conditions such as having to eject underwater or even in space.

[b]Personality:[/b]
Upbeat, carefree, irreverent and friendly, Leo’s a genuinely nice guy though he has a bad habit of trying to place himself as a hero and overstate his skills and achievements. Though he might seem like he does not care at times, he takes his duties extremely seriously, even to his detriment in the field at times.

[b]Vanguard Name:[/b] Brave Magnus
[b]Vanguard Type:[/b] 1.5
[b]Vanguard Size:[/b] 40m
[b]Country Vanguard Representing:[/b] None
[b]Vanguard Look:[/b]
[url=http://imgur.com/a/PXI4u]Pretty much exactly like this[/url], although its shoulders have been decorated with [url=http://i.imgur.com/wU2xldi.png]Leo's insignia[/url].

[b]Vanguard backstory:[/b]
The Magnus is an odd kind of Vanguard. Rather than be created by an entire country as its representative in the war effort, it was instead developed by a corporate conglomerate as a promotional gambit. They felt that even in this day and age, where everyone should indeed contribute to the war effort, there was value in allowing the private sector a degree of freedom rather than having everything be under state control. Although it was originally built off second hand technology, the Vanguards being state-secrets, and both fairly dumpy and not very impressive-looking, it was given a striking, heroic color scheme and a heavy deal of promotion amongst the general public.

The results were oddly positive. Although the Brave had the worst performance out of early Vanguards, it was constantly repaired and came back from encounters that left other machines completely totalled. This never say die "attitude" coupled with the extensive promotional work around it made it a crowd favorite, a kind of symbol for the resistance that people could get behind without the barriers of nationalism. While it could never be said to be the most popular, it was consistently cheered so that its dismissal or complete destruction would come as a serious blow for morale. Obviously, its backers took advantage of this.

Recognizing its value, merchandise flooded the market and the world powers were forced to allow this privately owned war machine access to the latest technologies. After all, its developers were reasonable. Brave Magnus was a spectacular propaganda tool and the people behind the machine saw no benefit in hindering the war effort in any way, they were more than willing to collaborate just as long as they were allowed to profit from their machine. Although it lost a few pilots in its lone operational year as a result of its originally low quality build, the machine itself remained a stalwart in public eyes, though who can say what regular Vanguard pilots feel about it.

[b]Vanguard overview:[/b]
The Brave Magnus is a rather mediocre machine whose only defining factors are its varied arsenal and its ability to operate in most environments. It's not slow but it definitely can't be considered fast. It's not lacking in armor or melee weapons, but there's far better choices for a front line behemoth. It's got plenty of guns, but other machines sport more powerful weapons. Almost aggressively middle of the way in every sense, this Vanguard is what the pilot makes of it and its greatest strength is its ability to cover a variety of roles effectively if not stellarly. The potential to exchange weapon loadouts further increases its versatility.

[b]Weapons:[/b]
-Fists: These need neither a funky name nor any real explanation. The Magnus’ four-fingered mitts are more than capable of putting the hurt on the enemy, even if they lack any fancy bells and whistles.

-Canopy Cannons: A pair of autocannons equipped right under the cockpit canopy, these are (comparatively) small caliber rapid fire weapons used to shoot down incoming projectiles or for point defense. Not a whole lot of damage but good rate of fire and can be used up close to hit vulnerable targets such as kaiju eyes.

-Crack Rockets: Two swiveling rocket pods located on top of the machine’s missile racks, these unguided projectiles are designed to penetrate heavy armor and pack a good punch, especially for their size.

-Bullet Banquet: The reinforced casing in the Magnus’ forearms can open up to reveal a pair of four-barreled gatling guns. Much higher stopping power than the Canopy Cannons, but still relies on scoring a large number of hits to deal substantial damage against well-armored enemies and remains imprecise at longer distances.

-Magna Storm: Two 15-barreled micro missile pods located on the Brave's back, these are fast and have a good lock system but pack less of a punch than larger weapons, relying more on scoring multiple hits over a wide area than single shot damage.

-Brave Blaster: Placed on both sides of the torso are a pair of powerful energy weapons which produce coherent, superheated green beams capable of slicing through kaiju. The weapon is precise even across long distances and incredibly powerful thanks to it being linked directly to the Magnus’ powerplant, but it also consumes large amounts of energy so use is limited.

-Magna Blade: By clenching its fists and locking its finger in place, the Brave can emit a pair of short range fusioncutter blades from a hidden mechanism in its arm. Not quite as powerful as the Brave Blaster and limited to short range, but less energy drain.

[b]Vanguard Features:[/b]
First of all, the Brave Magnus can rotate its torso 360 degrees much like a tank’s turret, making it easier to track targets. The Brave’s legs can also rearrange themselves to reveal powerful treads, essentially turning the Magnus into a tank with a humanoid torso. In this mode the machine is able to more swiftly cover ground but loses a good deal of height and becomes far more vulnerable in melee combat. Finally, powerful thrusters installed throughout the machine let it engage in a limited form of aerial combat, though the landings are a bit rough and require a good deal of work. It's also worth noting that because it's so exposed, its pilot canopy is tremendously reinforced, easily the toughest part of the entire machine.

[b]Bio(can be short):[/b]
Leo wasn’t quite sure what he wanted out of his life and was just going along with the flow before the war. Fairly handsome, he managed to land a few gigs as a small-time model but he didn’t feel at home there, or doing anything else for that matter. He found his reason to be when he was saved from a kaiju attack by one of the early Vanguards, Brave Magnus. He began to follow the exploits of these massive machines and their pilots, and eventually enlisted in the pilot training program. Though he wasn’t bottom of the class, he didn’t particularly stand out either and his chances of actually getting to pilot a machine were slim.

That is, until he was noticed by the Magnus’ backers. Their previous pilot had decided to retire from the stress of combat and they were left with no one to control their recently refurbished machine. They were, after all, very peculiar about who they chose. Skill was a must, obviously, but so were a good attitude and good looks, someone the people could really get behind as a hero and who they could market as a faux-celebrity. With his enthusiasm, affable nature and good looks, Leo was just what they needed. As he obviously still remembered the Vanguard that saved his life, Leopold Cristophe jumped at the chance to pilot it.