This could probably be done using a wire that is spiralled in a tube shape, sandwiched between two layers of sponge that'll form the tube, and then covered with fabric. I do have experience working with shit like that but don't count on my word this is just an hypothesis.
I have another cursed cosplay to add to the collection. The Christmas decorations are because it was for Holiday Matsuri’s Christmas cosplay contest (=^▽^)σ
(Also you mentioned in a previous post to tag you in these? Hope I’m doing this correctly, @carmelvardi )
This is my first time ever writing a theory, and it has definitely been discussed before but it's been rotting my brain for a while at this point so I wanted to make a post about it anyhow. Note! This will contain spoilers for 55 minutes, the more recent chapters of the manga, and very briefly BEAST so if you care about that, I would refrain from reading it.
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I wanted to discuss the connection between Atsushi’s tiger and depictions of the Taoist god Byakko. I sadly couldn't find much info about Byakko on academic sites so take all of this info with a large grain of salt. Allusions to the wind in association with Atsushi, as well as consistent use of it in general, are surprisingly prevalent throughout some of the light novels.
I’ve recently been making my way through reading light novels (I’ve only gotten my hands on 4 though) and I’ve noticed a surprising amount of allusions to the wind. It could be a complete happenstance or a neat allusion to Atsushi Nakajima’s famous work “Earth, wind, and Dreams” but the allusions to wind may also be in reference to the Taoist god Bai Hu, also referred to as Byakko. Notably sharing the same name as Atsushi’s tiger (from dead apple at least). According to what I could find on the internet (please let me know if I am wrong here) Byakko is associated with Autumn, the West, and according to some of the sources I could find, with controlling the wind.
Wind in 55 Minutes is used multiple times to either refer to Atsushi directly, such as his title as “Matasaburo of the wind” and in his fight against Gab where Gab states a “White wind sailed past” when referring to the tiger, or to mirror Atsushi’s own emotional state such as the repetitive mentions of it during Gab’s supposed death. As seen in lines like “It was like wind whistling through an opening”, and “Unable to even blink, Atsushi watched the final moments of Gab’s life. A gust of wind suddenly ran through the woods, causing the trees to rustle ominously.” Though this allusion to the wind is not necessarily (or even probably) intended to be an allusion to the Taoist deity, it's still an interesting addition to the current theories surrounding the connection between the two.
Notably, it's also mentioned in BEAST, arguably, once again as a symbol of Atsushi’s emotional state. After Dazai’s death it stated, “A strong gust of wind blew by.” But the most notable line was at the end of page 152, the ending line of Dazai’s death. “The only one that knew the whole truth was the crystal clear wind that traversed the Yokohama skies and watched over the city.”
This part of the post is gonna basically just become a crack theory at this point, but some of the sources I found mentioned Byakko's role as the overseer of predator and prey, additionally the deity is also associated with righteousness. There are a lot of theories on Atsushi’s connection to the book, and why he is presumably the key to finding it. It may be possible that, given his spotty memory, the Tiger knows something about where it is or how to get it, but Atsushi doesn’t. Perhaps if Atsushi’s tiger is related to the Taoist Byakko in some way, they have the book themselves. This is a rather weak idea but lines such as “The only one that knew the whole truth was the crystal clear wind that traversed the Yokohama skies and watched over the city.” lead me to the idea, in tandem with their role in the maintenance of balance.
Additionally, further evidence that Byakko may know where the book is or have it themselves if they are connected to the Deity, would be the decay of angels' plan to steal the remains of the book on the full moon. Further potentially alluding to the idea through the tigers connection to the moon cycle.
The surprising lack of action by whoever currently owns the book in the current events of the manga could be explained by Byakko’s limited abilities thanks to Fukuzawa. With Fukuzawa’s (presumed) death, it could allow for the god to intervene (if this is the case). In addition to this, the appearance of Byakko at this point in the manga would be a literary parallel to Akutagawa and Atsushi’s initial fight. As we know, major injuries have had a history of triggering Atsushi's full transformations in the past (55 minutes, and the start of the manga).
In the end this whole post is a long one, and is more than anything complete nonsense (probably) but it was on my mind, so I hope it makes some form of sense. Apologies for any spelling errors.
