[Cartethyia & Fleurdelys Cosplay] Willing to Fall into the Abyss Wearing Glory

Doing this Wuthering Waves cosplay as Cartethyia & Fleurdelys, just the material coordination and detail processing of the costume consumed a massive amount of energy. The light golden long straight hair paired with clear blue colored contacts, cooperating with pointed ears for this elf ears cosplay, presents an excellent atmospheric feel under the studio lighting. To restore the character's cold, serene yet slightly tragic setting, I intentionally lowered my brow peak during makeup to make my gaze look more resolute.

The prop and weapon recreation from shaping to coloring also tried out several materials. Those costume parts made of blue and white gradient tulle material in the pictures actually heavily tested the fabric's drape and the flatness of the seams; a slight lapse in attention could easily pile up unsightly wrinkles during movements. Our lighting for this studio shoot leaned toward uniform and soft cool tones, wishing to highlight that pure yet detached temperament in the setting. From the standing and kneeling compositions in the first image, to the emotional release in the subsequent two close-ups, and down to the final weapon-crossing stance, each image is meant to express a different side of the characters.

During the shooting process, cooperation with the partner was crucial. We experimented with multiple interaction methods, such as close-ups of holding hands with each other, or crossing our weapons in front of our bodies to strike a defensive stance. Actually, making two faces present their best states simultaneously in front of the lens is no simple matter. Aside from finding the right angles, the focal points of our gazes also needed to match; we had to redo shots several times because our eyes didn't align. If everyone looks closely at the costumes, you will find that the metal chains and the subtle patterns on the fabric were all ironed and fixed one by one during later sewing. For footwear, transparent strap high-heeled mule sandals were chosen. This combination perfectly elongates the leg lines, but it also meant consuming more energy to maintain balance while standing, especially when performing movements like lifting one leg, relying entirely on core strength to stabilize the body's center of gravity. I also made several versions of the blue coating on the gloves, and the final chosen one has a color relatively close to the official setting, paired with white wrist decorations to blend beautifully with the overall black-white-blue color scheme.

To make the blonde wig look natural and layered, I specifically mixed different shades of yellow, and used hairspray to secure those blue and white star-shaped headpieces on top of the head, ensuring they wouldn't tilt when moving the head. The fixing points of the headpieces were very well hidden, but the load-bearing effect was excellent, and after half a day of tossing around on the shoot day, no deformation occurred. For the props, the surface treatment of those long swords used multiple metal paints for gradient spraying, making the blade look both cold and hard like metal and carrying a slight frosty visual effect. In those full-body shots crossing and lifting the swords, we intentionally adjusted the tilt angle of the blades to make the frame more full of tension and motion, trying our best to avoid making the cold weapons look rigid in the frame. This time, aside from using hand interactions, we also attempted small details like eye contact and slightly lowering our heads, making the emotional continuity of the entire work stronger. The pure white background is beneficial for character portrayal; it concentrates all visual focus on the character's styling and emotional expression, making it convenient for fine-tuning the color atmosphere in post-processing.

The content of this shoot was actually to recreate that sense of destiny embodied by the characters—bearing glory yet willing to fade into silence. Although expressing this purely through a set of clothes is difficult, we hope to convey a part of the emotion to those who see these photos through the extension of movements and the freezing of gazes. Because the details of the props and costumes themselves are extremely abundant, which causes numerous inconveniences for an outdoor shoot, we still chose a pure white background to shoot studio photos this time, trying our best to utilize high-brightness uniform lighting to reflect the true colors of the costumes, while preserving the clean texture of the overall styling. Though the creation process of the entire work was tiring, it allowed us to truly witness the effects of costume production and various material combinations, making it a very fulfilling experience.