So, over a year ago, I made a short comic (can you call screenshot edits comics? I will, as they fit the format) about a cyberpunk AU with alternative versions of Zoissette and Y'shtola (as well as others). I did not really expect to ever touch it again; I just wanted to create a short little one-off about one of my favourite things, sad robots (or in this case, a sad cyborg).
Despite myself, the universe lives on, and I find myself nudging it again every once in a while. I was never -very- happy with my first take on Y'shtola/Solitaire. I wanted to capture something of a punk goth feel, which is a characterisation that I feel fits Y'shtola well. I hit punk well enough, but goth didn't come through at all.
Also, I was not quite sure how to handle her eyes. Most cyberpunk settings have a tremendously large number of options for augmenting eyesight, and I wanted to at least gesture at the fact that she is blind in mainline FFXIV. Ultimately I settled on just leaving her eyes alone.
Since I made that post, though, the number of glamour options we've gotten for such a setting have simply exploded. And I found myself going back and trying to nudge the design. Also, previously, I was using storm blue as my first choice on secondary colours for Y'shtola related outfits. Since then I've changed my mind, and swapped to purples, which I think work much better. It just feels like a witchier colour, and matches the colour of the pendent in her ShB-onward dress.
Basically, default colours for Y'shtola, for me, are black primary and purple secondary, and that's reflected in the outfits I've started making for her, including these Aetherwave ones.
You might notice that all but one of the outfits are using the Magitek Shoes; these just felt like the right amount of punk for a Y'shtola, and I really like how well they work on her. I also liked the Tactical Armlets a lot, and used them twice; the only thing working against them is I can't get rid of that splash of white on the inner arm, which feels out of place with what the rest of the outfit is doing.
There's a noticeable outlier in the designs, and that's the Y'shtola on the far right. I've always been exceptionally fond of her Heavensward outfit, and a bit sad that we got to spend so little time with it. The far right ouftit speaks to it, and I just love that coat, it's very cyberwitchy, and the pants were picked to call to the minitights she wore in Heavensward. The boots are just straight up the Heavensward boots; I felt they would fit in in a more modern setting perfectly fine.
To return to the question of the eyes, I tried a nod to her blindness with two of them. The augmentation heads-up visor on the far right, and the mirrored tactical shades in the middle. Looking again, the tactical shades are a bit goofy for her, I think. The visor I think works much better.
Speaking of eyes, I wasn't sure if I wanted to shift other aspects of her appearance besides outfit in the AU. Black hair and green eyes was an attempt at an alternative appearance, the eyes matching her ARR eye colour, and black just being a personal preference. It certainly makes her look younger, which I'm not sure I'm necessarily enamored with. I enjoy older woman Y'shtola.
Lastly, a note on their weapons. They're all wielding the Ironworks Magitek Rod. I like its look, it's good and tech-y, and I simply liked it more than the Solution 9 or other offerings that might fit in in a cyberpunk world.
All that said, I think second from left and far right are the two standouts here, and I should settle on one. Probably return the hair to white, in any case. Still waffling on the eye colour. Might try the visor on second from left, see how I feel about that.
Anyroad. Have some cyberpunk Y'shtolas.
