(Originally published July 2019. Author’s note: This article was originally published in a different article format than later interviews.)
Lystrade, known as Ly’strade Navaarne on Balmung, made her first Final Fantasy XIV cosplay before even playing the game. Thanks to some friendly peer pressure, she created the female miqo’te starter set to cosplay with a group all wearing XIV costumes, including her fiance in a Jandelaine costume. She ended up having such a positive experience that she picked up the game, and her love for XIV and its community has grown ever since.
The Azim Steppe was Lystrade’s favorite part of Stormblood. She enjoyed its immersive lore about the residing Xaela tribes, but was especially drawn to the fearless and tenacious personality of Sadu. Sadu’s outfit of contrasting of dark blue and silver-white (which represents the night sky) caught Lystrade’s eye, though she admits she was worried about costume’s complexity. Perhaps some of Sadu’s confidence wore off on Lystrade, because she tackled the cosplay despite her concerns, and created a truly spectacular final product that earned her a finalist spot in the 2018 North American FanFest costume contest.
Lystrade used a variety of woven fabrics to achieve the same textures as Sadu’s in-game outfit, detailing the fabric with gold and silver stretch vinyl. The tail was created with FOSSHAPE material and stuffed with polyfill to maintain its shape, while the facial horns were 3D printed. Both were detailed with craft foam and 3D paint to achieve their final design. For Sadu’s iconic black mage staff, Lystrade used EVA foam and PVC pipe. Magnets were also used to make the staff – beautiful, but admittedly bulky – easier to take apart for travel, particularly the large orb and LEDs inside.
The costume’s complexities were not as difficult as the make-up, however. Matching the make-up to the spandex suit was a particular challenge, but she was proud of how well the two blended together. Just applying the make-up, including attaching the au ra scales, was a two hour affair, while the costume itself took an additional hour.
The entire outfit was “very uncomfortable,” but she says the look was worth the discomfort in the end! She enjoyed displaying her work for the developers at the FanFest costume contest, but acknowledged the crowd’s reaction even more: “Seeing people light up, seeing a character they love, really brought a smile to my face (it’s hard to look as fierce as Sadu is when people are so happy around you!). At one point a toddler ran up to me, all excited about my staff lighting up, that was pretty adorable too!”
The question for Lystrade now is not if she wants to keep cosplaying FFXIV characters, but deciding how to pick just one at a time. She would like to tackle a bard outfit due to her character’s main job, but she is also considering Y’shtola or even a primal, if any from Shadowbringers catches her eye. Considering her impressive and detailed work on Sadu, we’ll definitely be looking forward to any cosplay she tackles next!
You can find Lystrade on Twitter.
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