[Liu Jiayi Cosplay] I Became a God in a Horror Game: Poison and Roses inside the Cage

Since completing this set of cuts inside the golden birdcage, the miniature birdcage and red roses in my hands happen to echo the artistic mood of the post caption: "I have a bottle of poison, tonight is not Christmas Eve." Because this is my first time challenging this kind of dark gothic styling, I actually spent a lot of thought before the shoot to understand the character's temperament in the work, which coexists with danger and melancholy.

The most satisfying part of this costume is undoubtedly the intricately layered black lace skirt hem, which features fine subtle patterns that exude a high-end texture under the warm lighting. The wide black top hat is trimmed with white lace ruffles along the edge; this black-and-white color-blocking carries a powerful visual impact and neutralizes the heavy, dull feeling brought by an all-black styling. To fit the character's vibe in specific story lines, I chose over-knee black stockings to pair with glossy Mary Jane shoes this time, which both elongates the proportions and preserves the dark texture of the Gothic Lolita style. A few crouching positions or cross-legged stances could beautifully display the drape of the skirt hem and the leg lines.

In fact, the correspondence of the scene layout on the shoot day was also highly interesting—golden birdcage sculptures, a white angel statue, and plenty of red roses built up a very enclosed yet gorgeous narrative space. Regarding props, besides the small birdcage and black crystal ball in my hands, there is also that vintage long-handled candlestick and red wine glass in the sixth picture; coordinating with the stained glass windows and red velvet curtains in the background, a classical oil painting texture immediately surfaces.

When shooting this set of cuts, because I wanted to preserve some mystery, I didn't make too many exaggerated expressions on my face, focusing more on maintaining a cold aura and transmitting messages through my eyes and gestures. For instance, touching the brim of the hat or placing an index finger against my lips; these subtle actions can enhance the narrative quality of the frame, making viewers feel that the character is vivid and carries depth.

For the lighting setup, the photographer chose light and shadow with a certain amount of contrast to outline the silhouette. Inside that massive metal birdcage in the picture, the on-site light projected through the golden bars onto the black dress, forming a very beautiful transition between light and dark, which gave layers to a pure black costume without too much decoration. Usually, I rarely take on this type of dark gothic themed cosplay projects, but this time, because of the work's inherent temperament, along with the awesome props and set, the final texture far exceeded my expectations for this piece of Dark photography.

During post-processing, we also tried our best to preserve the authenticity of light and shadow, without deliberately editing the skin too white or tweaking the atmosphere to be overly gloomy. Instead, we retained that vintage, warm-toned retro film feel, letting the contrast between the black dress and red roses look more natural. This is my very first Cosplay photoshoot attempt at this version of Liu Jiayi's styling from I became a god in a horror game. Shooting it made me feel that this kind of costume carrying a slightly vintage and mysterious undertone is truly highly photogenic, placing higher demands on expressiveness and body forms. Although the wearing process of props and clothing was quite tedious, the final gorgeous atmosphere presented across the frame makes me feel that all previous preparations were absolutely worthwhile.