Nicole "Ashrah" Hidalgo
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sayaashrah.bsky.social
Nicole "Ashrah" Hidalgo
@sayaashrah.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.2K following 14K posts
- Narrative Designer & Book Writer 📝
- She/Her 🏳️‍🌈
- Author of World Without Love (https://linktr.ee/NicoleHidalgoAuthor) & Chronicles of the Realms (https://archiveofourown.org/works/63099754/chapters/161589157)
- Studying Indonesian
- ⚠️Lesbian/Demonic NSFW
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sayaashrah.bsky.social
Good point! I'd say it turns out fine in the end (after a lot of trouble), as this "photo" of them shows 😄:
A digital illustration of Ashrah and Nitara by Seph (@goethial.bsky.social‬). It depicts the two characters back to back, holding hands, as they prepare for another fight, Ashrah brandishing Datusha, her sentient, keris-shaped sword, and Nitara summoning her dark magic. One of Nitara's wings stands behind Ashrah, almost like a shield, while the other is behind Nitara herself, in shadows. Nitara is about a head and half taller than Ashrah.
November 17, 2025 at 1:56 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Post a book quote that you love

💜🥺

#BookSky
“I felt that thread that had come between us, tugging, tugging at my heart - so hard, it hurt me. A hundred times I almost rose, almost went in to her; a hundred times I thought, Go to her! Why are you waiting? Go back to her side! But every time, I thought of what would happen if I did. I knew that I couldn't lie beside her, without wanting to touch her. I couldn't have felt her breath upon my mouth, without wanting to kiss her. And I couldn't have kissed her, without wanting to save her.”
November 17, 2025 at 1:53 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
2024-2025

Fuck 🖕 Al
(I'm still far from great, but yeah, at least I'm not using AI!)
A very bad, very amateurish digital drawing of Ashrah (mostly copying her design from Mortal Kombat: Deception) in side profile. Digital illustration of Ashrah, from Chronicles of the Realms, by me. She's on the far right of the canvas, only half her face seen in an angry, fierce expression. Black blood (demonic blood, alarun) splatters on her forehead and shoulder. Behind her, it's a maelstrom of black and orange, ashes floating around her, hinting at a devastation in the Infernal layer of Ultarvy.
November 17, 2025 at 1:48 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Rage of the Netherrealm 🔥

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #SayaAshrah #DigitalArt
Digital illustration of Ashrah, from Chronicles of the Realms, by me. She's on the far right of the canvas, only half her face seen in an angry, fierce expression. Black blood (demonic blood, alarun) splatters on her forehead and shoulder. Behind her, it's a maelstrom of black and orange, ashes floating around her, hinting at a devastation in the Infernal layer of Ultarvy.
November 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 17. "Spend"

Askaly makes her aunt a grim promise (but we all know Nitara will come back fine... unless you consider an infatuation with a demon as "not fine").

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #BattlemageAskaly #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
The air trembled, and a portal appeared. Askaly glanced at her aunt to find those impassive black eyes aimed at her. Her arms fell limply by her side, all the fight draining out of her as the Moonlight Storm slid into the rift with more grace than a vessel of that magnitude should boast. “Your mother will be back soon.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her aunt’s hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. Anger burning hot in the pit of frustration, Askaly stepped away and glared at the High Priestess she was sometimes ashamed to call aunt. This was one such occasion. “You better be right. Or you’ll spend the rest of your life looking back on this moment and regretting it. I’ll make sure of that.”
November 17, 2025 at 11:45 AM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Ashrah, Nitara, and Sareena, obviously.
Ashrah bust, commissioned from Saphnoctis (Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/saphnoctis/). The drawing is a three-quarter view of Ashrah wearing her Balance is a Journey outfit (the golden, Barong-shaped pauldrons, the purple selendang, the white collar of the white kebaya, and the Garuda-shaped pendants tying the kebaya together), her purple eyes looking to the right, and her hair done in her usual, warrior-like topknot. A bust of Captain Nitara Coliary, by Saphnoctis (https://www.instagram.com/saphnoctis/). It shows her wearing her hat with the pendant shaped like the wing of a bat, her fur-lined coat, and the eye patch on the left eye. Her two fangs poke out of her lips. Tendrils of shadows curl behind her, hinting at her umbramancy. The wings on her back are stylised in a much smaller version than they actually are, in a way to fit all the character's traits into the bust format. A portrait of Sareena by Mery (@meryselda.bsky.social). She's a Nether-Touched (a mix of human and devil) with blue-greyish skin, horns that curve above black hair with white strips, red, pointy tattoos crossing her orange eyes, and pointy ears. It depicts her in three-quarter view, one eyebrow raised in a mischievous expression. Her outfit, including shoulder armour, are of dark and muted, including black, grey, and red.
November 16, 2025 at 6:08 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
My demon warrior, as always 🥰💜

#SayaAshrah
Illustration of Ashrah wearing her Balance is a Journey outfit, made by Drafru (https://bsky.app/profile/drafru.bsky.social). In it, Ashrah wears a white, long-sleeved kebaya with golden bracelets on her wrists and upper arm, pauldrons shaped like Barong's face, and eagle-shaped pendants across her torso to tie the kebaya together. A purple selendang is draped over her left shoulder and tucked into the belt. She also wears a white belt, on which we can also see a pendant with Barong's face, white skirt, and trousers. Golden anklets finish the ensemble alongside golden slippers. She's in a graceful but warrior-like position, one foot slightly above the ground, her arms crossing her chest, and holding Datusha, her keris-shaped sword, in her right hand. Ashrah bust, commissioned from Saphnoctis (Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/saphnoctis/). The drawing is a three-quarter view of Ashrah wearing her Balance is a Journey outfit (the golden, Barong-shaped pauldrons, the purple selendang, the white collar of the white kebaya, and the Garuda-shaped pendants tying the kebaya together), her purple eyes looking to the right, and her hair done in her usual, warrior-like topknot. A digital illustration of Ashrah by Orlando B (https://bsky.app/profile/sarkastiklover.bsky.social). It shows her in her "Duality Form," half-human and half-demon, the latter represented by her ringed horns and the left hand in her purple demonic skin and claws, closer to the viewer. Her other, human hand, is behind her and grips Datusha. We see Ashrah from a high-angle view, her face set into a deep frown as she readies herself for battle. Full-body digital illustration of Ashrah by Sasha (@sashthesloth.bsky.social). She wears her Bound By Flame outfit, composed of a grey selendang-like garment draped over her left shoulder and arm, pinned in place by a shoulder armour with a Minotaur-like horn melded into it, an orange chest piece, same colour of a sarong-like skirt and gladiator sandals, and golden arm bracers with Infernal symbols representing strength, power, and will engraved onto them. On her right hand, she wields Datusha, her keris-shaped sapient sword, while on her left palm hovers a sphere of the Eternal Flame. She looks straight ahead with a serious expression.
November 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
*sighs* Ikalry (from my Chronicles of the Realms)
A digital portrait of Ikalry by me. She's a devil with red skin, wild red hair, a sharp-toothed smile, and dark plum horns jutting out of her temples and curving outward. Trinkets hung from strips of viscera tied to each horn: in one, an eye and a fang, in the other, two blue-ish, severed fingers. She carries two crimson gemstones, one imbued to the golden collar around her long neck, and the other chiselled into her forehead.
November 16, 2025 at 5:31 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
It's so badass—and even better in full! I love how the artist captured her fierceness in her posture and especially in her expression 💜🔥
Full-body digital illustration of Ashrah by Sasha (@sashthesloth.bsky.social). She wears her Bound By Flame outfit, composed of a grey selendang-like garment draped over her left shoulder and arm, pinned in place by a shoulder armour with a Minotaur-like horn melded into it, an orange chest piece, same colour of a sarong-like skirt and gladiator sandals, and golden arm bracers with Infernal symbols representing strength, power, and will engraved onto them. On her right hand, she wields Datusha, her keris-shaped sapient sword, while on her left palm hovers a sphere of the Eternal Flame. She looks straight ahead with a serious expression.
November 16, 2025 at 1:06 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Ashrah getting some recognition for her badassery here 💜🔥

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #Ao3
Comment on Ao3 by Jainasolo17: "She danced amidst the bewildered horde, shawl flapping, sandals raising bloodied dust and scoria, tendrils of hair coming out of the bun to whip at the smile wavering on her lips. Datusha radiated, blinding and lethal, singing a song of freedom with each swing, every slain demon multiplying its glow." This is kick-ass. I read a lot of fantasy with female main characters, but it's not very often that they're allowed to unapologetically deal out death and destruction like that. I only had time to read up until this point (chapter 4) now, but I am hooked. You write action very well and I love your worldbuilding. Great work! And your drawings are definitely better than you think.
November 16, 2025 at 1:02 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Ashrah is by far and large the one people know more about on account of me not being able to shut up about her, and while I know some folks like her, I don't know if I could call her a favourite. Or if there *is* a favourite, again, because I barely talk about anyone else.
Digital illustration of Ashrah by Sasha (@sashthesloth.bsky.social), cropped from the original full-body image to show only from middle of the chest up. She wears her Bound By Flame outfit, composed of a grey selendang-like garment draped over her left shoulder and arm, pinned in place by a shoulder armour with a Minotaur-like horn melded into it, and an orange chest piece. On left hand, we can see the flames of a sphere of Eternal Flame. She looks straight ahead with a serious expression.
November 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
At least they're aware that their game is fucking broken.
Hey, @Game Updates. I’d like to provide a list of the known issues that we are currently working on. The team is aware of the high ping issues, PS5 optimization, character creation, pre-registration rewards, and Twitch drop rewards. We are actively working on fixes and will post updates soon. While we don’t have all the solutions yet, this announcement is to let you know that we are aware of the issues and are actively working on fixes. We appreciate your support and feedback on this launch day, and we will continue working on providing a better game and community experience. Thank you! And we'll be posting new updates in game-updates.
November 15, 2025 at 11:58 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
That moment when you spend almost two hours in the character creator, finally become satisfied with the result, and when you start the game, she looks like a fucking pale zombie.

What the fuck HAPPENED?! Don't know if it's a bug or what, but what a way to crush my desire to play the game...
Screenshot of the character creator in Where Winds Meet showing a brown Ashrah. Screenshot of the character creator in Where Winds Meet showing a brown Ashrah in a full-body shot with her sword. In-game Ashrah in Where Winds Meet, pale as sour milk, and with a visibly lower quality than in the creator.
November 15, 2025 at 2:31 AM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Three more hours until Wuxia Ashrah 👀👀👀
Screenshot from the PS5 showing Where Winds Wind downloading, with 3 hours and a half remaining.
November 14, 2025 at 10:04 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
I'm writing the PERFECT chapter for this, but alas, I haven't got to the proper scene yet. So, here's the climax of the Ashtara meet-cute :)

And yes, CW for blood and suffering.

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #SayaAshrah #CaptainNitara
Darkness swallowed the concubus and spat her out behind Ashrah, who spun around, Datusha ready to… She wasn’t quick enough. Fangs sank into her arm. Pain speared through her body, skewering every muscle in its path, wrenching a distorted scream out of her. Through her blurred vision, she met the concubus’ venomous eyes and the challenge in them: drop the sword. Ashrah did not. Something beyond hate, something she could not understand, hardened the green in the fiend’s eyes, making it as deep as a swamp where Ashrah could’ve drowned in. In a surge of primal ferocity, the concubus dragged her fangs across Ashrah’s arm all the way up to her wrist, shredding skin, tendons, blood vessels. Ashrah howled at the anguish of the grievous wound, and beyond that, at the terror of the sight of her purple flesh shimmering underneath her lacerated brown skin.
November 14, 2025 at 4:11 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
#LesficFri "Legs"

Uh, yeah, this one is NSFW 👉🏾👈🏾 From "Like A Prayer," Ashrah and Nitara's first sexy short story: archiveofourown.org/works/74103031.

#Lesfic #QueerWriters #ChroniclesOfTheRealms #SayaAshrah #CaptainNitara #Ashtara
Without question or hesitation, Nitara dragged Ashrah’s trousers back out. Ashrah let out a yelp as a draught glided past her legs and showed her how wet she was. Again. Staring with a glint in her emerald eyes, Nitara lowered herself to her knees, a position not unlike the one the Shadow Priestess and the faithful adopted when praying to Envasar. She nuzzled Ashrah’s inner thigh, then breathed in, deep and loud, and that alone made Ashrah’s legs quiver. “Fuck,” the captain hissed. “All of this… for me?” She grabbed Ashrah’s thighs with each of her large hands. Their eyes met, the hunger in the nensii’s black pupils making Ashrah’s centre throb as if she had grown a heart not in her chest, but there, between her legs. “I wanted you,” she whispered, as if saying it louder would break this spell they were under. “Wanted?” “No. I want you. I need you.”
November 14, 2025 at 11:54 AM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 14. "Week"

*ominous piano plays*

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #CaptainNitara #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
With a nod from the queen, Miatiy gestured for Nitara to come closer. She did, and she looked into the Font of Insight, an ornate silver bowl fitted atop a chalice-shaped glass platform and filled with dark water. Squiggles rippled from one side of the basin to the other. Nitara frowned at them. She had not spent much time with the Fountain, certainly not as much as the High Priestess or the queen, but she knew that was not normal behaviour. “Earlier this week, I sensed an anomaly in the Veil. The Font showed me these shapeless forms, but I could not understand what they meant. I thought it could be an enchantment Aunt Pryaik had set up during her time as High Priestess, so I checked her notebooks. And I found it.” Miatiy swallowed, her gaze wandering towards the Font as if she expected a monster to emerge from it at any moment. “During the Bloody Year, she cast a tracking spell, and now it’s giving off a signal. I swear I reviewed her notes a hundred times, and they match with the forms in the water.” She took a deep breath, her eyes remaining closed for a moment, then she said, “Datusha is back.”
November 14, 2025 at 11:43 AM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
#SFFChat Outro. Thanks for hosting, Steve! And yeah, time is a tricky subject. I haven't world-built it much myself 😬

Yesterday, I posted Ashrah and Nitara's first smut scene! It's a bit of an AU, but it was super fun to write 🥰 archiveofourown.org/works/74103031.

Also, last day of the bundle!
Promotional poster for the Trans People Take on the World Bundle. 32 book covers, all stories with trans main characters, by trans authors. Centre Text: Trans People Take on the World. The Strangers Sanctuary, S.E. Robertson. What Lies Within, Issy Waldon. Synthetic Sea, Franklyn S. Newton. Non-Player Character, Veo Corva. A Life in Too Many Margins, S.E. Thomson. Like Salt and Whi Sky, Merlina Garance. A Memory of Blood and Magic, K.N. Brindle. My Personal Trainer Cracked My Egg, Fern V. Bedek. Enemies to Enemies, Ash Kreider. The Poison Fruits, E.M. Haegar. The Thread That Binds, Cedar McCloud. The Wings of Ashtaroth, Steve Hugh Westenra. The Elysium Proposal, A.E. Bross. Structural Integrity, Tabitha O'Connell. Songs of Broken Bells, Lilly Lockwood. Echo Sight, Cian Verath. The Uncontinented Stars, Haden Cross. Between You, Me and the Moonlit Sea, Linn Silver. Secondhand Origin Storie, Lee Brontide. Blood On The Snow, Finn McLellan. Manipulators War, Elise Carlson. Powder & Feathers, Johannes T. Evans. Our Simulated Selves, Nikki Null. All Roads Lead to This, Kay Claire. 1000Lotuses, Lotuscarp.com. First Rose, Jake Vanguard. A Demon to Save Me, H.S. Kallinger. Dragons Soul, J.F.R. Coates. Garden of Rotten Roses, Nicole Hidalgo. Name Her Holy, Aubrey Ennis. Baker Thief, Claudie Arsenault. Illusory, M.X. Misfits.
November 14, 2025 at 12:24 AM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
Oh, yes, Edenia has quite a bit more than that lol This, plus all the subfiles, and everything I still need to world-build 😵
November 13, 2025 at 9:18 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
(ugly drawing incoming, but it fits the occasion too much for me to let it pass!)
Drawing of Ashrah making the handheart gesture.
November 13, 2025 at 3:50 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
I'm quite proud of the smutty short story I wrote for Ashrah and Nitara. It started as just a way to take a break from the emotional intensity of Eternal Flame, but I really enjoyed giving them this!

Sharing a non-sexual snippet, but if you wish to read more: archiveofourown.org/works/74103031 👀
Pulling away, Nitara leaned her forehead against Ashrah’s. “Can I tell you a secret?” “Of course.” “I’ve been dreaming of you ever since I first drank your blood in the Netherrealm.” Ashrah explored the nensii’s eyes, as vast and honest as the lush forests she had seen while travelling aboard the Vermilion Star. She, too, had felt something stir within her back then, though she did not have the words to describe her feelings beyond the violence and the bloodshed that had determined all her Pulses. But she had learnt much more since then, and much of it was thanks to this wonderful creature in her company. “You dreamed of me?” Nitara smiled. “I still do.” And that smile, and that gentle voice, flooded Ashrah with warmth—not the kind that burnt in the Torch in her chest, but one that yearned for this nensii; to fight by her side, to be by her side. To love and be loved. Ashrah stroked Nitara’s cheeks. “Wake up. Open your eyes. I am real, I am here, and I will not go away.”
November 13, 2025 at 3:26 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
#Bookvember 13. Many did that, I'd say, but the first book that came to mind when I read the prompt was Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

I love how this story is structured, how we see the history of this fictional family intertwine with the historical context and build this tapestry of human experience.
Cover of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.
November 13, 2025 at 1:31 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 13. "Build"

Ikalry has plans for the future... a shame Ashrah wants no part in them.

This one goes to @papadjinn.bsky.social since we were talking exactly about lovely Ikalry (voiced, in my head, by Maggie Robertson!) yesterday x)

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
Ikalry clapped. “I knew I was right about you! The blood doesn’t lie, neither the one flowing inside you nor the one you spill oh so majestically! Imagine what we could do together, elbhyr. We’d build palaces with their corpses! Feed on the purest incarnation of terror! Bleed dry the veins of the Universe!” “You are insane, devil, and I want no place in your madness. Fulfil your part of the deal, and we shall never meet again.” Ikalry regarded her with a pinched mouth before clicking her tongue and striding past her, the snake tail keeping its vicious eyes on Ashrah until they disappeared around a corner.
November 13, 2025 at 12:16 PM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
I'm in the process of getting a new drawing of Nitara alone, to really show off her physique, but for now, here's one of her with her demon wife 💜
A digital illustration of Ashrah and Nitara by Seph (@goethial.bsky.social‬). It depicts the two characters back to back, holding hands, as they prepare for another fight, Ashrah brandishing Datusha, her sentient, keris-shaped sword, and Nitara summoning her dark magic. One of Nitara's wings stands behind Ashrah, almost like a shield, while the other is behind Nitara herself, in shadows. Nitara is about a head and half taller than Ashrah.
November 13, 2025 at 1:21 AM
sayaashrah.bsky.social
House Coliary (Nitara's House) has a winged spear over a full moon as its emblem. It represents the strength of the House (as with House Ocpesira, it has a strong military vein) as well as, more recently, its connection to the aerial ships.

You can see it (minus the moon) in Nitara's tattoo:
Digital art of Captain Nitara by Red Hunter (@redhunter94.bsky.social). It's a low-angle drawing of Nitara, her hands propped against the railing of her ship, the Vermilion Star, her eyes closed and a smile on her face in an expression of pleasure, her red hair dancing with the wind. Above her, the night sky shines with Niumbra and Oroni, the two moons of the realm of Vaeternus, the former large and purple, and the latter small and blue. Nitara wears only her "pirate shirt" and waistcoat, leaving aside her heavy, fur-lined coat. On her chest, we can partially see the tattoo of her House, a winged spear.
November 13, 2025 at 1:14 AM