"Chewing ice cubes? It dulls the pain and keeps you sharp." That is the core essence of the character, and the exact inner sensation I strove to channel for this Lappland the Decadenza cosplay. Starting with makeup and styling, the silver-white wig took considerable time to prepare—especially the fluffy animal ears on top and the forehead hair ornaments. To ensure they wouldn't collapse while navigating the anime convention, the headpiece and wig were anchored very tightly, leaving my scalp numb after wearing them all day. The colored contacts narrowed my field of vision, making surroundings appear hazy; this required strictly regulating my blink rate while shooting, relying on the red marks at the eye corners and furrowed brows to convey that ruthless intensity. The trickiest part of the facial makeup was the blood-red mark under the right eye. To make it look like genuinely dried blood, I tested several pigments before arriving at a result I was truly satisfied with.
In terms of costume, the black, red, and gold palette commanded immense presence, yet wearing it was exhausting. The outermost red cape was made of heavyweight fabric with a graceful tassel drape, but combined with the cluster of black feathers on the shoulder, the weight soared. Walking through the convention in this outfit required projecting an imposing aura with every step, which was physically draining. The jacket was made of stiff leather with poor breathability, making breaking a sweat effortless. After removing the coat into the skirt dress, the waist cinch strap was tight; the peek-through red, blue, white, and green plaid color blocks along the hem and the black leg garter on the left leg stood out as visual highlights—the slight skin indentations from the garter looked fantastic on camera. The folded paper prop with geometric patterns was made of stiff cardboard with slightly sharp edges; holding it casually meant maintaining a subtle wrist angle at all times. The red-and-black mask had a glossy finish; once put on, it narrowed my vision severely and trapped airflow, amplifying my breathing sounds so much that I had to take it off every few shots to catch my breath.
The convention was crowded and noisy, so Mu Bai led me to a marble wall as our backdrop. Due to chaotic venue lighting, we steered clear of harsh overhead lighting and utilized marble reflections to illuminate my face. The shot where the cape flares out was captured after spinning around repeatedly until I was dizzy to achieve that perfect sweep angle. With dense crowds, I constantly feared passersby snagging the feathers or wig, making every shutter press nerve-wracking. During breaks, I genuinely chewed on ice cubes to let that biting cold sting rush to my head, keeping my gaze piercing—a clumsy yet earnest interpretation of the character. Returning home to remove the makeup, the shoulder feathers were tangled, the garter edges soiled, and the wig badly knotted; tidying everything took two more hours. The white parts of the costume soil easily, demanding careful cleanup post-shoot. The overall Convention photos experience was exhausting, but seeing the finalized photos capturing that cold composure teetering on the brink of madness made every drop of sweat completely worth it.