Corvid Mercenary

Books / comic books

Grace read the entire Dark Tower series (at the time there were only three books) in her first year of high school in 1993 - 1994. She quickly became a fan of the setting, writing several works of fanfiction that were, by her own admission, mediocre at best.

Grace read the first few issues of Spawn in her last year of middle school after a friend took her to a local comic book store. Though she initially only bought the comic because she liked the cover art, she ended up becoming obsessed with the setting and characters, with her sometimes (only half jokingly) referring to Lucijan, the man who murdered her adoptive father Caleb, as the "son of Malebolgia."

Grace chose to read the original 1989 comic book version of The Crow after becoming obsessed with the film adaptation. It quickly became her all time favorite comic book, in a similar manner to how the film adaptation became her all time favorite movie.

Movies

The Crow has been her favorite movie since she first watched it in theaters at the age of fifteen, with her first viewing of the film immediately making Brandon Lee one of her favorite actors (even if only posthumously). The soundtrack also greatly influenced her taste in music, with her favorite musical subgenres being alternative, industrial, and gothic rock/metal. The film also served as a partial inspiration for her "Raven" nickname.

Hard Boiled left a lasting impression on her as a teenager, with Chow Yun Fat and John Woo becoming two of her favorite actors and filmmakers respectively. She openly admits that wielding her two Colt pistols makes her feel like she's Inspector Tequila.

Raiders of the Lost Ark was Grace's favorite movie up until her first year of high school (when she saw The Crow), with Indy being her biggest fictional hero when she was little. She still occasionally watches it in her spare time, as it is another comfort movie for her due to her and Caleb watching it together countless times when she was a kid.

Games

Grace first played the Monolith developed shooter Blood when she was nineteen, during the middle of her training with her mentor Emilia. She greatly enjoys the game due to its multiple references to horror and gothic fiction.

Grace is an avid fan of Wolfenstein 3D, having spent countless nights playing the game and several fan made maps.

Her favorite game of all time is the first Metal Gear Solid from 1998, which was also the first game she played on her PlayStation. She would later admit to her peers that she felt like Solid Snake when she managed to shoot down an Annabeth Security Hind gunship.

- Grimm's father was an Osean Army veteran who fought in the Belkan War. The entire Grimm family has a long history of service in the Osean military, which is what inspired Hans and his brother to enlist in the OADF and Osean Army respectively. The Grimm family is of Belkan heritage, but has lived in Osea for centuries.

- While the standard tank of the Emmerian Army is the Challenger 2, the C2A1 is used by reserve units. The standard issue small arms platform is the L85 family, with special forces and reserve units being issued the C7/C8 family of weapons. The standard issue combat helmet is the Mark 7. DPM remains the standard camo pattern, with the DCU pattern seen in game being standard issue for arid regions such as parts of Western Emmeria and the Moloch Desert. The primary helicopters of the Emmerian military are the AgustaWestland Apache, Westland Lynx, and Aérospatiale Puma, with the Sikorsky S-70 series also being used by the Emmerian Navy and special forces units. The primary AFVs are the FV510 Warrior IFV, the AS90 self-propelled howitzer, and the CVR(T) and LAV families of AFVs.

- The Ustian language is a mix of Czech and Polish, with many citizens also being bilingual in Belkan due to decades of occupation prior to independence.

- The Tu-95 is a Yuktobanian design that was ultimately rejected in favor of a copy of the B-52. One of the prototypes was sold to Erusea, who proceeded to mass produce it as their standard bomber aircraft.

- The Osean Army uses both the M1 Abrams and the Leopard 2, with the Leopard being used mostly by reserve and OPFOR units. Most Leopards are reverse engineered copies of examples captured during the Belkan War.

- The Kfir seen in Ace Combat 2 is a design originating from a country on the Verusan continent.

Decided to decorate my gray cat eye helmet band until the more period accurate one I bought shows up. Inspired by irl helmet art from Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the GWOT, and by my headcanon that Grimm's father was an Osean Army veteran who served in the Belkan War. PASGT helmet and Woodland cover are authentic, as is the chinstrap (which was a bit of a pain to attach).

Three characters who inspired Grace Ainsworth, the main protagonist of my setting.

- In addition to being what I consider to be a good example of a character that was wasted potential, Tanya Akulova from Darker Than Black was also the main visual inspiration for Grace, more specifically her hairstyle (low ponytail, bangs, side bangs) and clothing (bodysuit with boots).

- If my setting was a game or animated series, then Grace would have the same voice as Kainé from the Nier games (that is to say that Grace would sound like a very cold or very pissed off Laura Bailey), which is ironic since Grace is often a bit of a softie when she's not in combat (not to say that Kainé doesn't have a softer side, because she does).

- Rayne is yet another foul mouthed swordswoman voiced by Laura Bailey (her first credited video game role, in fact), and served as the secondary inspiration for Grace's appearance (primarily the elbow gloves). Rayne being a dhampir (half human/half vampire) also partially inspired me to make Grace a nephilim (half human/half angel).