I am very tempted by flowy outfits, and with Thunderbolt Fantasy being a wuxia series, everything has to be flowy with great spin potential. I went fully budget with this cosplay, and honestly that much polyester on my body was a mistake and I turned into a deflated marshmallow of polyester fabrics backstage at the competition. I very much enjoyed the cosplay but one day, I plan on remaking it with natural fibers.

Related tutorials

Lang’s details

• Making a fabric-covered Chinese topknot ornament
• Making wrap-around ear cuffs with Worbla
• Make your own tassels!
• Adding gradients to tassels with alcohol markers
• Basic shoe covers for flat shoes

Pipa details

• Making weathered wood out of EVA foam
• Painting weathered metal with a makeup wedge

Related primers

• How to detangle and destress a long, straight wig (because this wig is a menace)

Competition information

I competed with this outfit in SakuraCon 2022. It was my first time trying to do a solo performance, and I chose to do a ballet-like dance to dubstep. While the performance went well, trying to perform in 5 layers of synthetic polyester made me overheat badly. I do not recommend dancing in a fully synthetic hanfu.

Build book

This is the build book I presented to the judges. I learned Chinese knotwork for this cosplay and used multiple styles of knots, some very small on the shoes to a massive butterfly made of stiffened paracord. I also experimented with the best way to make my own tassels to get exactly the design and size I wanted.

Cosplay Gallery