What makes Ashrah... Ashrah?
A question yesterday on Bluesky asked about what are your character's core, what is or are the things that must remain the same in every AU; the things you wouldn't allow to change in an adaptation. And I thought I'd transcribe here my answer for Ashrah [friendly reminder that her name is pronounced ah-sh-RAH, with a strong rolled "r"].
Fierceness
First of all, Ashrah is a fierce warrior who's not only excellent at fighting but who also enjoys the art of combat! This might not seem too important at first, but it is: she is excellent at fighting, she's brutal, she enjoys it, and it's through this nature of hers that she fights so relentlessly, so passionately for her freedom, which is another imperative: freedom MUST be the core ideal of her character. Some AUs might extend this to the freedom of others, too, make her less self-centred, that would be fine, but HER freedom must come first.
Of course, once she learns about love and develops relationships with people she cares about, this fierceness also extends to them! But to them, and not to strangers!
Balance
NOT her purification. Her purification should NEVER be the true end goal, but what leads her to understand what true freedom means and embrace her duality, embrace her balance, embrace her full self: darkness and light, vice and virtue, demon and mortal.
But she MUST suffer to get there. She must make mistakes, she must kill those she shouldn't kill, she must get close to the edge of losing herself, she must feel like she betrayed herself, because only then do we truly feel the weight of her obsession and her ignorance and her pride.
And yes, Datusha, her sapient sword, has to be a vital character in her story. Indeed, THE most vital character. If you take Datusha and what it represents away, you take away part of her obsession, and that can't happen.
Self-Love
Love must be a core theme of her character, but romance must NOT be the main love. That must be self-love. Once she gets there, once she unlocks this understanding about herself, then possibilities open up.
Also, her mortal form must be Asian or Asian-inspired. Get the fuck out of here with bland white people.
"I Am Always Serious"
Yes, she's a serious gal! Indeed, she doesn't understand figures of speech and has a... shallow sense of humour 😅 That also relates to her autism, which yes, is something that should be consistent, even if her traits can change from story to story.
Curiosity
Curiosity is one of Ashrah's most endearing traits... but also one of the most dangerous ones. This curiosity is detached to any sense of morality: she may save someone if that leads her to solving a mystery, but she might also condemn entire regions, without even realising what she's doing, by following her curious mind.
Because of this curiosity, she's very intelligent... if she allows herself to learn instead of being blinded by her arrogance... and seeks to learn more. This, for example, leads her to learning to play the erhu and becoming a great cook!
Honour
Both inside and outside the battlefield, honour is incredibly important for Ashrah. She would never kill someone in their sleep, for example, but would rather wake them up so they could have an honourable fight.
This also ties into how she doesn't lie and has near-zero deception skills.
Morally Grey
Ashrah is no hero. She's no villain, either. She's far more complex than any of that, even though friends and foes might try to fit her into a box. This ties in to her quest for personal freedom, to her curiosity—it all comes back to her morally complex nature!
However, here's a crucial point: Ashrah is never cruel for the sake of being cruel. She will be brutal and vicious if she must (and, indeed, in battle, she often is), but that will have a purpose behind it rather than pure wickedness.
And this is a small celebration of my Ashrah—as special, badass, complex, unique, and amazing as she is 🥰💜
And, as always, if you want to read her story, you can check out Eternal Flame, Book 1 in the Chronicles of the Realms series, as well as a couple of short stories, here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/4547401.