I like to keep my signups short and sweet. If you want me to expand anywhere, Vance, then tell me.[hr][b]Name:[/b] Rio Hamasaki [b]Nicknames:[/b] N/A [b]Team Position:[/b] Assault/Supporting fire [b]Age:[/b] 21 [b]Gender:[/b] ♀ [b]Year at Ace Academy:[/b] 2nd Year [b]Appearance:[/b] Rio is a tall and slender woman, standing at a proud 1m86. She usually wears a bit of lipstick and eyeshadow, but doesn't touch other make-up. Her face is thin and sports small features, making her eyes and mouth seem further apart than they really are. She has ruby eyes. Her hair is long, minty geen but usually tied up into a ponytail which reaches 3/4ths down her back. Even when not in uniform, Rio prefers to dress formally so you'll usually see her sporting a suit of some renown. [b]Personality:[/b] Rio's a bit stuck up and snobbish, looking down on everyone but only letting it show ever so slightly. That's not to say she's heartless, you can certainly get a good conversation going with her if she lets you, but Rio's not the type to easily hand out compliments. [b]Biography:[/b] Born in the Hamasaki family, Rio wasn't missing much when she grew up. The Hamasaki's built their legacy on selling high-quality electronics and eventually got into the Gear business, making quite a bit of revenue come their way. This lead to the classic case of 'Rich Kid Syndrome' for Rio, as she was enlisted in some of the most expensive academies Japan had to offer. She was constantly pressured into studying, leaving her a bit of a loner up until the later years of her highschool life where she formed a small clique of friends. Rio never really had a boyfriend, which pains her enormously because every guy she's ever had a crush on either rejected her or were already together with someone else. They also tended to all be interested in Gears, so she herself decided to dabble into it as well. Much to her parents' dismay, this caused Rio to choose to become a Gear pilot rather than inherit their business, but she figured they could shove that responsibility on her two years younger brother. She's kind of stuck down this path, too, as she actively lashed out against her parents to let her do this. She was enlisted in Ace and soon was faced with the harsh reality that there were, in fact, people that were better at this whole piloting thing than she was. She repeatedly got crushed in combat, and it frustrated her at the time, but she at least humbled up a bit and stopped being a stuck-up bitch to everyone. The studies were much harder than she expected, too; while she'd been breezing through much of her schooling up to that point, she had troubles keeping up with Ace Academy. Now she's going to try and prove herself this year after barely scraping by last year. She's not going to be the problem child of the Hamasaki's! [hr][center][h3][b]Combat Section[/b][/h3][/center] [b]Strengths:[/b] She's a calm thinker and is quick to adapt when things go south. Great at thinking up both short-term and long-term strategies when the situation calls for it. She isn't the greatest at mid-range, but she performs above average if nothing else due to a steady aim. [b]Weaknesses:[/b] Arrogance leads to overconfidence, so she can bit off more than she can chew sometimes. She doesn't like being ordered around, especially when it goes against what she personally thinks is 'best'. Despite having good theoretical skills, she can flake when putting it in practice. She's not great in the short range either, mostly due to having little experience with gears that come up close. [b]Neutral Values:[/b] Long-range combat and support roles. [b]Other:[/b] N/A [hr][center][h3][b]Gear Section[/b][/h3][/center] [b]Gear Designation:[/b] Hamasaki Manufact. Customized Model 43CHUTE [b]Nickname:[/b] Union [b]Weapon(s):[/b] Union is equipped with a Kinetic rifle that fires automatic rounds. The clip is reloaded as it fires, but can't go on endlessly. A set amount of bullets are loaded in, and if Rio continuously fires she'll end up depleting her clip before it can catch up. They're meant to pierce armor, but deal less damage to the gears themselves. This is a weapon meant for softening up the foe rather than outright killing them. Union is also loaded with a couple of energy grenades (4 per combat) that, similarly, don't do much to damage the foe but rather pierce through shields. Unfortunately, this is a rather slow way to punch through their defenses and is more used for forcing the enemy to move. The last of Union's weapons is a short range energy dagger. It's not meant to fight a melee Gear head-on, but serves as a last line of defense in case the enemy comes close. Unlike the previous two weapons, this one is designed to deal extreme damage on contact, but is hard to hit due to being so short. [b]Base Parameters:[/b] Strength: C Endurance: C *Armor Quality: B *Shield Quality: C Agility: D Energy Level: B Long Range Quality: B Short Range Quality: D [hider=Appearance][img]http://img09.deviantart.net/e562/i/2008/271/1/9/heavy_assault_character_wip_by_mohzart.jpg[/img][/hider]