Today we bring you another community interview!
You can't talk about Elezen without thinking of Flash Galathynius! With a great collection of diverse and unique glamours, Flash knows how to deliver sharp and inspiring looks. I finally had the opportunity to get to know more about Flash and their glamour process.
So read on Eorzea Collection's exclusive interview with Flash!
Hey, Flash!
To start us off, can you tell us more about yourself?
Hello, Warriors of Light and Darkness! My name is Ashe Junius, but the Eorzeans know me by my player character, Flash Galathynius.
If you are a YA book nerd, then you are correct to assume that I reference my player character’s surname from the main character of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, which is one of my favourite series.
I currently reside near the Marine Corps military base of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, USA.
Outside of Eorzea, I’m an aspiring writer who is currently working on getting my first book published. At the time of this interview, I’m in the process of querying for agents. When I’m not gaming, I’m usually doing some form of creative writing, or reading a book.
How long have you been playing FFXIV and what drew you to it?
I’ve been playing since 1.0 Beta. I took a break for a while when I realized how graphically intensive the game was and how my PC could not handle it at an acceptable framerate.
Then I returned to the game right around the time when Ramuh was relevant content—around patch 2.3. I’ve been playing since.
What is your favourite thing about FFXIV?
The storytelling. Since Heavensward, the main story writing and world-building had seen some significant improvements and radical shifts. Sure, there are some dry spots, but the storytelling has gotten so much better compared to ARR.
Were you always as invested in glamour or did that interest develop over time?
I’ve always been interested in the glamour system ever since the introduction of the feature to the game. Before playing FFXIV, I’ve always played games where there is a certain degree of character customization, whether it’s just changing the color of the player’s armor to creating a fully customized character from the ground up. This is especially in MMOs, where I try to create a character that I might relate to.
What about in your everyday life, are you as fashion-conscious as you are in-game?
Not really. Fun Fact: I actually do not own a pair of denim jeans.
Can you walk us through your process of creating a glamour?
Often, when I’m making a glamour, I’ll have an audiobook running in the background. I don’t listen to much music, but if I do listen to music, it’s usually a heavy metal cover of a song from a video game or TV show.
Then I’ll settle on a theme. For example, when I made the Infiltrator glamour, I wanted something that drew inspiration from sci-fi FPS games, like Doom, Halo, Unreal, Destiny, and the like. At the time, the Late Allagan PvP set was rather new, so the timing was perfect.
For most glamours, I’ll pick a focal piece, typically, the chest piece in most cases. However, there were times when I started with the hat first, since I have a thing for hats.
While rocking to some Mick Gordon tunes, I started with the Late Allagan top. After that, I rummaged through some pants that might look interesting. I ended up with the Ronkan pants since the golden accents might work in my favor if I can put that gold on other parts of the set.
Then I tried to find boots and gloves that could go together. However, I didn’t want to end with three pieces from the same set, so I swapped the gloves with something that looked like it could mesh well with the top. The gold on the Lost Allagan seemed to work in my favor, so I stuck with it.
However, I had to deal with a random green stripe on the boots. So instead of complaining about it, I figured I’d try to work with it and see if I can spread that green out to other parts. That resulted in the pants dyed with a green stripe, and swapping to the Gordian hood, which adds a bit of a sniper feel to it.
Oddly enough, the weapon is the last thing I go with if I intend to use the glamour on multiple jobs.
At the time when I made Infiltrator, I used Soot Black for the gloves, but with the release of the Ishgardian restoration, I opted for Gunmetal for that slight shine to it.
For cosplay glamours, I start the same way and hit the chest piece first. Then I’ll expand from there and decide whether I want to stick to the source material or make a remix of it. For glamours based on characters from books, I’ll also look to book covers or fan art for inspiration.
Do you have a go-to glamour or gear piece?
For Aiming jobs, I tend to rotate between Infiltrator, Wanderer, and Rebellious.
For NIN, I tend to cosplay as Celaena from Throne of Glass.
For all the other jobs, I tend to experiment as I pick up new pieces while leveling up, though I’ve noticed that my Darkling glamour has been becoming quite popular lately. I should consider wearing that more often.
What about a favourite in-game colour?
Loam Brown 
We know glamour is the true endgame, but is it your main focus in the game or do you mix it up with other activities as well?
I’m typically doing one of these two things in-game: raiding and glamour. And since my static only raids about 4 hours a week, the rest of my in-game time is trying to figure what I want to wear.
If you could wish for one thing in FFXIV, what would it be?
A better dye system. The dye features from GW2 would be pretty freaking dope!
How did you first find out about Eorzea Collection?
It was advertised on Reddit one day back in April 2016. When that came around, I uploaded my first glamour, Sharpshooter. Since then, I have posted more than 80 glamours to date.
What do you love the most about Eorzea Collection?
The community, especially the folks on Discord.
What about Eorzea Collection, if you could wish for one thing, what would it be?
I’ve always been curious about what other communities think of which glamours look interesting—what stands out. Perhaps a Sponsors’ Choice or something that accompanies the usual Featured Glamours.
Thank you so much for your time, Flash!
Do you have any closing remarks?
First of all, a shout out to Lillith Cale and Dragon Army of Balmung. Great and fun people to hang around with. We’re always recruiting, so if you’re interested in joining, feel free to apply in-game. I’ve been with this FC since patch 3.2-ish, and their Discord is always lively.
Second, a shout out to Edeon for the most fabulous glamour website in Eorzea, and all the beautiful people who submit their glamourous creations!
A special thanks too:
Neneko for making some of my favourite GShade presets.
Xennon for reminding me that I’m not the only MCH around these parts.
Nya Nya for inspiration and even more presets.
And finally, Yoshi-P for this wonderful game!