#neoleonard

[isdiaz]

A line-up and banner for the five private military bigwigs I’ve been redrawing lately. They all form the Grand Cardinal Companies, five massive private military organizations that essentially run all major military power in their setting. Despite all being referred to collectively as Grand Cardinal Companies, they’re actually competitors, and more often than not have tense business relationships. 

They’re all basically big corporate frenemies with guns.

Each Grand Cardinal Company sorta has its own schtick that sets it apart from the others, which they try to use to give themselves an edge competitively. Their setting is a continent mostly comprised of independent walled-off city-states scattered among war-torn and monster-infested wastelands. These city-states often rely on hiring one of these companies to serve as protection against outside monsters or bandit groups, so the GCCs tend to compete for business with these cities.

Angelus Tech is the largest of the five. They’re a military science company that utilizes some pretty seedy bio-sciences to augment chosen soldiers with superhuman capabilities.

NeoLeonard is led by Alexandria, who’s secretly one of last people alive who can wield powerful magic in a world where people mostly rely on tech and bullets now. She herself earned the nickname of the “Calamity Maiden”, and is known to crush entire enemy forces with just herself and a small team. 

Violet Industries actually has a limited military, but that’s because they’re mostly a weapons and tech developer that excels in making highly advanced equipment. They then sell or leverage that equipment to other military powers for profit.

Severa is a more straightforward PMC that specializes in artillery and heavy machinery, choosing to solve its problems using overwhelming force and a big enough gun.

Love & War specializes in stealth and espionage, using any means necessary to eliminate threats both efficiently and with subtlety. Originally formed by those dissatisfied with their former employers, Love & War steals a bit of the other companies’ gimmicks, as many of its agents were likely from those companies.

[isdiaz]

Another redesign of one of my really old characters for 2020, this time my military general named Alexandria Leonard. She’s the leader of a private military company called NeoLeonard--I had a bit of a story blurb about her in another post back around November. Though here are some bits that post didn’t touch on.

As the third pic might imply, Alexandria secretly has powerful magical powers, and the fact that it’s secret is the whole reason why her personal platoon almost never leaves survivors. Not even most of her own company knows--only the handful of soldiers she personally selected for her specialized squad are aware of her nature as a magi, which are thought to be extinct.

Alexandria was originally born as Alexandria Faulkner, having later married into the Leonard name. Her company is called NeoLeonard because it used to just be called the Leonard Military Company under the leadership of her husband (whose name I’ve yet to think of). The company almost went under after Alexandria lost him to an assassination, but she eventually took leadership to revive the company and renamed it. Not even her husband knew of her magi nature, as she used to hide her powers to avoid getting hunted.

Also, one more fun fact is that she’s really tall, at just over 7ft. It might be hard to tell though, since her height isn’t as apparent when she’s just standing by herself. I’m hoping her proportions in general (and how they differ from Ameli in my last post) could help imply how tall she is.

[isdiaz]

Yet more doodles ranging from semi rough to super rough. They're all kinda meant to flesh out NeoLeonard, a private military company lead by the woman in the first image, Alexandria Leonard. NeoLeonard’s soldier uniforms are inspired by knight armor, mixed with modern soldier uniforms. Valkyria Chronicles is another reference as well, just instead of WWII-era knights, I’m going for scifi knights.

Alexandria is the leader of the company, but unlike other armchair generals, she leads her troops in person on the battlefield. Her personal platoon is famous for remaining undefeated, and infamous for seldom leaving survivors. She’s often seen as an intimidating, untouchable force, even by her own troops, though a select few of them know her on a more personal level.

Byron Haile is Alexandria’s right hand man and pseudo-father figure. Though much below Alexandria in rank, Haile has served the company since long before she took leadership. He actually taught her the basis of her military and combat knowledge, and still acts as a sort of adviser to her. Alexandria often confides in Haile for wisdom and advice.

Lorelei Wagner is a demolitions specialist in Alexandria’s personal platoon, who found herself establishing a more social relationship with Alexandria than just that of a soldier to their CO. If Byron keeps Alexandria well versed in military affairs, Lorelei keeps her grounded as a regular woman with regular wants and interests. She treats Alexandria as a friend as much as a leader.

[denimcrown]

Idol: For the past century, we have been treated like weeds, and with this next war God intends to wipe the rest of us out. I refuse to let that happen! If I must, I will fight even the divine.

Misfit: Before you go after God, you'll have to take the blood of your brother.

Idol: Ever since you took a seat among the gods, I knew you would have to be the first to go.

[denimcrown]

“In the world I visited, she was known by the public as Prophet. Here, she is seen as a criminal for kidnapping and raising the military’s clone of Lieutenant 19. She was captured during the flood, so their son could escape.”

Angel looked up and over at her from across the table. “Their son?”

“They knew each other before the war,” Devon responded, shutting her eyes.

“You don’t actually think-?”

“No. I have seen and experienced first hand. Things like this don’t work out in war. Not with him at least,” she said, closing the computer, “I’ve accepted that. I’m doing this for a friend, a friend that deserves to see her son here too.” She turned away and walked towards the windows.

“Fine. I’m intrigued. But Lt. 18, whatever you are going to be carrying in your heart during this prison break, remember you have an old friend too.” Angel reached out and hugged her by the shoulder. Stepping back again, she warned, “But it should stay here with us. I doubt any other officers would approve, and we both know Rocket well enough to know he is completely ignorant of these two.”

“Definitely. Thanks, Angel. Since coming back, it has been easy to feel like an outsider in my own home. That was reassuring and... comforting to hear said.”

[denimcrown]

We go through many rivals in our life. Each one holds something significant for us. But Angel was a rival for all of us, as a people. She came from another world and challenged us to be better, to ask us to step up to the plate and set aside our petty differences, not only for ourselves or the betterment of humanity or hers, but for the sake of all. When it came down to it, she beat us. She made the ultimate sacrifice, the one none of us were ever going to be prepared to give. She gave her entire life for us, from the moment we met her with life threatening hostility to the moment she gave us her death, and I am not entirely sure she even started to like us. Terry and I speak for the entire League and all of humanity, neither of which would be around without her, that she will be dearly missed and reverently remembered.

[denimcrown]

The car rolled down the hill. Being in the driver’s seat made it different this time. I braced myself with my arms, deadlocked against door and glove box. I had already deflated the front air bags, and they lay useless and harmless to me now. The first jolt came from the ceiling but rolled quickly over to the passenger side. Rolling a car down a hill is different than simply rolling a car. You are not simply tossed around on the ground. Here, you get air time, free fall. The next time I would feel any force at all, it would come abruptly from under, throwing me back upward, flying with my car, tensed body holding me in the seat. Cars are not meant to crash, but when they do, they are meant to roll and bend so as not to break. The crash on my said came from the window shattering against the wall. I got a taste dust on the way up The arm I was holding against my door was pushed in. Elevation drop must have increased under me, because I was given a good rest from feeling the fistfight with Mother Earth. 

This is what people pay for. They pay for this when they buy tickets to get on roller coasters, the simple taking of turns of free fall and the reaction force of the Earth to get you back up in the air. I had never liked roller coasters. Whenever I had paid for them it had been the urging of others. The most enjoyment I would get out of them is unconventional it would seem when I look around at the others. I would hold the bar. Strap myself in, try to work with the forces. That, this, is definitely the thrill I had been paying for all this time. The thrill was always doing what I needed to stay alive. 

Being jostled around with my hold for life must have broke the base of the glove box. I let it slip and started pushing against the passenger seat. As far as my perception of time can tell of then, I made a narrow window as the next landing would come from there at an angle. I let my elbow bend enough to keep my shoulder from snapping. Without leaving the ground, I braced myself from the other side when it came down on one of the trees of the edge of the forest.

Good Lord, was this the best choice? Was this the only way out? I allowed for a quick stare along the trench I had dug myself into. I unstrapped myself and let the belt fly back. Gradually speeding up, I grabbed my bag and started awkwardly crawling my way to the passenger side, downward. From there, I got in the seat and pulled the handle to let the door fall open. I rolled out. I was disoriented in all of my movements, and, while I was successful, it showed as I tried to get up. I staggered and started gazing again.

My mother screamed and ran running from her driver’s seat. The dirt still hadn’t stopped falling from the roof of the car in front of my face. I couldn’t see a thing. I felt like I was outside of my body. From there, I could. She screamed like a banshee, short intervals for a breath and then screaming again. She grabbed my brother and I, oblivious to the pain she was causing us, needing to know she hadn’t killed us. She sat down in the dirt, putting both of us in our laps, sobbing uncontrollably. Eleven years ago, on our way to a funeral, we lived. To this day, it is still funny.

The screeches form up on the highway ended. Their engines started roaring again. They were coming back. Shit! They’re not gonna give up. But on this day, nobody had died, so the joke was still funny. Before leaving. I raised up my arms and let out a joyous yell. I listened to its echo ring out in peace. Then I pounced on my bag, turned, and ran like hell into the woods. Nobody had shown me how to take life seriously then.

[denimcrown]

For a while I was wondering why I was focusing so much on the characters I had in all of these “new worlds.” With NeoLeonard and the rest, the interactions that I explored were with the same ones from before in his Redemption story. Because I can spend my time in my head with these stories they tend to melt with one another and appear to have smaller distinctions between the Discontinuity and the Third. Therefore, the question came about due to the fact that I was thinking all of my stories had been muddied with the same people. Looking closer at it, with relief, I found that this is not the case. With the exception of the exposition stories like The Dramaturgical Robin and the Other Marshall these people are left behind in the Third. It is the fact that the Discontinuity focuses on Leonard that the characters surrounding him are the same ones from his incarnation in Copper.