[Diaochan cosplay] Four Beauties of Honor of Kings Recreate a Classic Scene from Empresses in the Palace

This photoshoot originated from our desire to do an absurd crossover meme: using 2D anime-style outfits of the Four Beauties from Honor of Kings to pull off a hardcore recreation of that iconic showdown scene from Empresses in the Palace ("Slap her mouth until it's bruised"). In the original drama scene, the characters wore heavy Qing dynasty court attire with intense dramatic tension, whereas our cosplayer outfits leaned into modern aesthetics with miniskirts, high heels, and stockings—and that stark contrast became the very soul of this photo series.

Shooting that day was quite an endurance test; standing in the chilly wind in high heels with White tights cosplay on long legs, managing voluminous puffy skirts while trying to hold fierce, intimidating stances pointing fingers at someone. To showcase each character's charm, we fine-tuned our stances to elongate our leg lines as much as possible, with the pairing of white stockings and colorful high heels standing out vividly under the outdoor lighting.

On the far left of the frame is Diaochan cosplay with her voluminous pink petal skirt and long legs; in the center kneels Xishi cosplay in a blue dress, followed by Wang Zhaojun cosplay standing on the right, and Yang Yuhuan's ensemble on the far right. Our blocking directly referenced the original drama's staging, but the costume design leaned entirely into 2D glamorous allure. To complement the highly saturated colors of our costumes, we stopped down the camera aperture, rendering the background pagoda and railings crisply in focus.

During post-processing, we focused heavily on the texture of the legs and stockings, brightening skin tones to preserve that translucent, 2D aesthetic. Without losing the essence of the original classical drama composition, incorporating elements like stockings and sleek legs flipped the serious palace intrigue into an amusing, lighthearted frequency. All in all, shooting this set was immensely fun, especially cracking our brains together with my cosplay partners to nail every absurd staging detail; seeing the finished photos brings a smile every single time.