Cosplay Spotlight: Jayson Slone

(Originally published October 2019. Author’s note: This article was originally published in a different article format than later interviews.)

With only weeks before LA FanFest 2018, Jayson Slone was preparing to pull out his cosplay of Jandelaine (the fiery-haired aesthetician we all know and love) for the festival. Jayson, who plays Goge Vandire on Balmung, loves Final Fantasy XIV as much as anyone else, but no other character had really caught his eye for a cosplay – until, that is, the reveal of the character then known as Solus zos Galvus, now Emet-Selch. His “trollish behavior” was reminiscent of Xellos from Slayers for Jayson, and “at that point the deal was sealed.”

Once again, only weeks before FanFest.

The construction of the costume was a “blur.” Understandably so, given the tight deadline! Jayson credits around-the-clock teamwork for pulling the costume together, including the efforts of his fiancee and their close friend Indra. They used a “truckload of vinyl, linen, craft foam, faux fur, [and] gold bias tape” to construct Solus’s outfit. All told, the costume weighs almost ten pounds, making it fairly hefty to wear around a convention for hours. The final result, however, was well worth the sleepless nights. Jayson is particularly proud of the meticulously detailed jacket, and considers it the “centerpiece” of the whole costume. His favorite memory of FanFest was “waving to the masses” during the parade, as only the campy and ostentatious Solus zos Galvus can.

If Jayson was tired while wearing Solus during FanFest, his exhaustion doesn’t show! The paint work on the overcoat is immaculately clean, with a mixture of deep golden tones to allow for texture and depth. The heft of the vinyl coat gives him a powerful silhouette for striking poses. The costume is complemented by stunning make-up that he takes full advantage of, mastering Solus’s iconic, schmaltzy smirk in every photo. Even before Solus was revealed as Emet-Selch in Shadowbringers, Jayson’s emotive photos already hint at the man’s complex history lurking beneath the surface of his smile.

Jayson completed his cosplay before the release of Shadowbringers, when Emet-Selch’s story would become the point upon which the entire 5.0 story hinged. He admits he was initially reticent about Emet’s character in Shadowbringers. With his new favorite character holding such a key role in the main quest, he “feared that too much of a good thing would sour [him] on the character.” Thankfully, the masterful writing of the expansion found Jayson interacting with Emet even in non-cutscenes, enjoying every tidbit of lore (mixed with plenty of snark) in the Ascian’s dialogue.

“I really feel that Emet-Selch was a masterclass in storytelling from start to finish,” Jayson writes in his interview. He believes that the new expansion “really challenges players to think about not just what’s spelled out in front of them, but the importance of acknowledging what came before them as well as the responsibility of their actions going forward.”

You can find Jayson on Instagram and Twitter.