The day after shooting this Lilith cosplay Craft Essence set, I stared at these photos on my phone for a long time, the sentence I wrote in my post endlessly echoing in my head—this affection has long surpassed the realm of ML (Master Love), it's just that pure, slightly obsessive love. The trigger for this shoot was the Fate/Grand Order 10th anniversary. From the moment I heard the news, I was planning a special look, eventually settling on Lilith. The dress was lovingly crafted for me by dressmaker @DongfangNini-zi. I was super thrilled when I received it; the black lace and tulle patchwork fit the character's temperament perfectly. But I felt it wasn't bright enough, so I took matters into my own hands, sticking fine glittering rhinestones onto the tulle and along the edges so that under the lights, subtle shimmers would flow over me. I styled the headpiece myself too—black spiked hair ornaments paired with blue flowers behind, aiming for an atmosphere both dangerous and romantic. For earrings, I picked small moon and star designs; though barely visible on camera, details must absolutely be in place.
On the day of the shoot, photographer @Ank-Amamiya-Eiga worked extraordinarily hard. The studio we picked was in the suburbs, taking over three hours round-trip, and as soon as we arrived, we started setting up scenes. The first few close-up shots used a dark-toned vintage room with lace curtains and skull pumpkins, mainly wanting to highlight makeup and costume texture. Wearing the green contacts was actually a bit dry, but to restore that cool yet sly gaze, I pushed through for several hours. For the latter two camera screen preview photos, we designed a scene lying back on a table, scattering parchment sheets everywhere, alongside red and blue books, golden candlesticks, and lit white candles. That faint yellowish candlelight casting over my face, paired with black gloves and skulls, perfectly matched what I imagined as the character being alone in a dim magical study room.
In fact, preparing this look came with quite a few small hassles. For instance, the red diamond pattern hanging from the collar was actually a patch; to ensure it wouldn't fall off, I invisibly stitched it onto the tulle with needle and thread, taking huge effort. Also, the Silver hair long wig gets tangled easily, especially after sticking glitter on it—every adjustment required care so as not to drop too many sparkles. But seeing the final results, all the hard work was worth it. I'm not someone who uses flamboyant words to get emotional; I feel the essence of cosplay is striving to stay close to the character while adding a touch of personal interpretation. To me, Lilith isn't just a simple "waifu" or "Master" relationship; she possesses an aggressive self-awareness, uncaring of how others define relationships, caring only whether she wants to bestow her feelings. Thus, in posture and expression, I avoided overly pleasing sweetness, opting for a bit of mischief and composure. For example, the shot sticking out my tongue while holding a skull prop was meant to express a casual vibe of "see how relaxed I am."
Regarding lighting and composition, the photographer constantly communicated with me. That side-backlight hitting the hair felt amazing, making the silver hair look fluffy and glossy. We tried different angles: facial close-ups, half-body shots showing shoulders, and that final lying-down panorama. Although that lying shot was re-photographed off the camera screen (since original files weren't exported right away), the atmosphere was superb. Reaching fingers toward the camera created strong interactivity, like inviting you to fall together into this Gothic style dreamland.
After finishing the shoot, I was reluctant to change out of this costume and walked around the studio in it for a bit longer. For me, the meaning of cosplay is being able to completely become another person in a single moment, experiencing her aura, willful nature, and persistence. Leaving such a set of imagery for the 10th anniversary makes me feel truly fortunate. Thank you to the dress owner for delicate tailoring, thank you to the photographer for traveling, and thank you to my own unchanging passionate heart. I hope to have another chance in the future to shoot this Lilith cosplay look in a different scene, perhaps with more close-ups and dynamic movement, which should be even more interesting.