Okay, my adrenaline levels are back to (mostly) normal, so I can write an actual post now lol And I want to talk about the new design of my angelic demon lady 😈😇
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It surprised me. I confess that, when I first saw it, I wasn't sure if I liked it. But I do. A lot!
I had one wish for Ashrah's design: that it explicitly represented her dual nature. There were many ways NetherRealm could've accomplished it, and they chose a fantastic way to do it. One theory for why Ashrah used that long and thick outfit in the 3D era was to cover scars she might have as a consequence of being a demon. NetherRealm embraced this idea and even upped it, as now we can see those scars directly on Ashrah's face.
It doesn't take away her beauty, but it gives her a freakish look - helped, of course, by the absence of eyebrows and those damned black eyes that melt my heart I'm so in love! - that fits the character so well! The hairline kind of "avoiding" the scars is a great touch too, and I love her long hair.
Another thing that caught my attention was Ashrah's facial expressions. She's not a cheery character. Quite the contrary, she looks outright disgusted in pretty much every scene 😂 And how could she not when she despises her own nature? In Deception, Ashrah was pretty rude to anyone she encountered except Shujinko. She's not rude with her allies here, but I really like how they kept this distant, even aloof tone to her character.
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And the biggest surprise - she has wings! NetherRealm's really leaning into the angelic aspect of her character here. Her attire too seems to have some "plumes," which is a nice touch. I love the colours, by the way. Keeping the white & gold palette was the wisest decision.
If there's one thing that I'm not 100% pleased with is the Kriss. I wish it were wavier. But that's fine. The Kriss will probably be one of her customisable gear, and then it's likely we'll get some different designs. (The hat will definitely be another gear piece as well; I need my Ashrah with a big hat!) And even if we don't, Ashrah looks like a kombo queen, which absolutely delights me! The little I saw of her moveset looks fantastic, and yes, I'm very curious to learn why she got that purple energy at the end. Kriss, Kriss, are you up to something nasty again?
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There are story bits that I'd love to discuss, but I'll wait until we get her bio. I apologise in advance, but I'll talk even more about Ashrah now 😂